


Ali'i

by daughter_of_lilith



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Royalty AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-02-22 10:11:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13164756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daughter_of_lilith/pseuds/daughter_of_lilith
Summary: After the mess of his divorce Prince Daniel just wants to avoid the paparazzi and raise his daughter in peace. Unfortunately, fate seems to have other plans and he finds himself embroiled in an assassination and falling for a secretive and devastatingly handsome Naval officer. At least things can't get any worse, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you're all in the mood for some trope-tastic, self-indugent AU fic!

Danny can feel his eyes glazing over as he tries to pay attention to the debate happening in front of him. It's been a long day. Endless meetings filled with pointless negotiating and political maneuvering have left him drained and exhausted, and now, listening to these two minor royals from the west coast trying to one up each other in conversation is getting on his last nerve. He tugs on his tie and shuffles his feet attempting to distract their attention. All he wants is to escape for a few minutes and find some peace and quiet, but he can't get a word in edgeways to excuse himself from the conversation. 

He stifles a yawn and lets his eyes drift around the ballroom. Oregon is certainly doing well for itself if the decor of the palace is anything to go by. The room is large and airy, wrapped in elegant wallpaper and dotted with furniture upholstered in fabric that looks too expensive to actually sit on. Groups of various royals and their attendants stand around nibbling on hors d'oeuvres and sipping excellent wines. Here and there one of the naval delegation stands out, their dark uniforms lending an air of gravity to the whole affair. It's certainly different than the casual functionality of his home court.

As a Prince of New Jersey he's been to more royal functions that he can count. But today he finds himself wishing he were anywhere else. Diplomatic work is always so tedious. He knows that the Allied Realms Joint Naval Treaty is due to be renegotiated, but he doesn't understand why his parents insisted on sending _him_ as their representative to the summit. His sister, Princess Bridget, has always been much better at this sort of thing. She's the detail-orientated one out of the siblings, and much more tactful as well. Danny's had to bite hard on his tongue several times tonight to prevent himself from causing a diplomatic incident. Especially whenever anyone brings Rachel into the conversation.

Even more than a year after the fact it's still a particularly sore subject. The tabloid gossip has finally slowed to a trickle, but he's still an object of intense curiosity in royal circles. After all, it's not everyday a Princess abandons her husband and child to run off with the King of another kingdom. Nearly everyone he's talked to tonight has found some way to bring up the topic and his deflections are becoming increasingly curt as the night drags on. 

At least Nevada is landlocked, thank god for small mercies, so there's no chance of running into Stanley at this summit. Danny's not sure he'd be able to refrain from punching the guy, King or no. 

Turning back to the conversation before him he manages to catch the eye of their host. The Queen of Oregon makes a face only Danny can see and rolls her eyes at the antics of the two youths. "Yes, well gentlemen, that's certainly given us all a lot to think about I'm sure." She interrupts smoothly. "Can I interest you in another drink?" She waves over a hovering attendant, and Danny mouths _'thank you'_ at her as he makes his escape. 

He strides towards the exit of the sweltering ballroom, shaking his head at the bodyguard who moves to follow him. Walking purposefully from the room he turns right as though heading for the restrooms, but as soon as he's out of sight down the corridor he changes direction and makes his way further into the palace. At the end of a long gallery he turns right and sees a set of doors opening onto a deserted balcony. Thanking his lucky stars he slips outside and glances around, noticing a bench he sinks down onto it with a sigh. He reckons he's got ten minutes or so of privacy before his bodyguard comes looking for him.

Leaning back and taking a deep breach of the cool night air Danny pulls out his phone and checks his messages. Just one, from Gracie, wishing him a good night. She must have sent it while he was still at the banquet, it's far too late to call her now so instead he fires off a quick text; 'goodnight monkey, Danno loves you.' Then he slumps further down with a heavy sigh. There's another topic he doesn't want to dwell on tonight.

"Rough night?" asks a deep voice from behind him.

Danny lets out a high-pitched yelp and spins around. A man steps forward from where he'd been lurking in a dark alcove, unnoticed during Danny's earlier scan of his surroundings. He's tall and broad shouldered, wearing a uniform with an impressive number of ribbons across the chest. He must be one of the Naval delegation, either here as a negotiator or part of the honour guard. His tie is still done up tight but his jacket is unbuttoned and he's carrying his hat under his arm. Looks like Danny isn't the only one looking to get away and unwind for a moment.

"It was going just fine until you decided to give me a heart attack." Danny grumbles. "It's not very polite to sneak up on people."

"Well I was here first," the man replies.

He takes another step forward and Danny gets a good look at his face as he moves further into the light. Jeez they know how to pick them in the navy. This guy could be on the cover of GQ. He's got cheekbones to die for, and deep hazel eyes, but it's the air of dangerous competence that really rounds out the package. All that height seems a bit wasteful from Danny's perspective, but he is a little biased in that particular area. 

Danny realizes he's been staring too long and quickly focuses his eyes straight ahead. He waits for the wave of guilt that always follows after he's caught himself staring at someone that isn't Rachel for too long. 

Then he mentally kicks himself, right, he's allowed to look now.

He glances back at the other man, there's what appears to be a SEAL pin above his ribbons and Danny groans internally. This guy can't be real. 

He waves back over his shoulder, "Shouldn't you be back in there protecting the delegates?" He doesn't really want the guy to leave, but hopefully some bluster will dispel the awkwardness of the moment.

The guy smirks. "I'm on break right now, and even if I wasn't, I don't see your bodyguard anywhere your highness. I might as well do my job here instead of back in that stuffy ballroom." His gaze flicks over Danny, and he smiles. "The scenery is certainly a lot better." 

Wait a minute, is this guy flirting with him? Looking at the guy Danny's not exactly opposed to the idea, but he has zero interest in ending up tabloid fodder again. There's plenty of royal chasers out there trying to get a one night stand and a story they can sell to the tabloids. 

Although, he wouldn't say no to a little friendly conversation.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Danny counters. "You apparently know who I am, but I don't know you."

"It's hard not to know who you are, Prince Daniel," the man replies. "Certainly not if you pay any attention to the news." He inclines his head toward Danny and introduces himself, "Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett at your service," he continues, "I have to say I'm surprised to run into you here, I thought you hadn't been seen in public for months."

Danny cringes. "Yeah, my sisters thought I was getting too pathetic skulking around the palace so I guess they're the ones who convinced my parents to send me to this god awful summit."

It's at that moment his phone chimes quietly. He looks down at the screen and has to restrain himself from throwing it right over the balcony to smash on the courtyard below. As it is his grip on it tightens to the point where he's worried it's going to crack and he lets out an angry growl. 

"Woah, what happened? Did war break out?" Steven asks. 

"No." Danny replies. "It's my ex." He pauses, how much does he really want to tell this man? "After running out on me and our daughter she somehow thinks that she deserves primary custody, and she thinks she's found a judge that agrees with her."

"He glares down at the curt message on the tiny screen. "Grace is my everything, I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. But I'm not in direct line for the throne, so apparently the judge thinks she'd be better off in Nevada with Rachel and Stan."

He can see Steven looking at him out of the corner of his eye with an unreadable expression on his face. Danny gets it, really, hearing about other people's family drama would make anyone uncomfortable. He turns his phone off and tucks it away, that's a problem for tomorrow, and his lawyer. 

"So, Steven," He motions to the spot beside him on the bench. "Come sit and tell me what you think the chances are for this summit actually deciding anything useful."

Steven saunters towards the proffered seat and sprawls out beside Danny with his ridiculous long legs spread out in front of him. 

"Well," he starts. "I'd say you've got a better chance of a unanimous treaty this time considering the king of Hawaii actually decided to show up." There's an uncomfortable emotion in his face, but Danny doesn't feel like pressing it this early in their acquaintance. Lots of navy men have strong opinions about the various coastal royal families. 

"Well his wife was assassinated..." Danny starts, unsure why he feels the need to defend the reclusive monarch.

Steve scoffs, "Eighteen years ago now."

"And then his son and daughter disappeared." Danny continues, ignoring the interruption. "Someone going through that much tragedy in such a short time? I can see why he might have moved diplomatic matters to the back burner. I think it's a good sign he's starting to rejoin the world again. Maybe he's finally come to terms with it." 

In truth it's been a long time since he's thought about Hawaii. It was _the_ story two decades ago. It had been nearly fifty years since the last royal assassination so the pictures of Queen Doris' car, blackened and burnt, had made the evening news for weeks. Danny remembers being disgusted by the sensationalist nature of the reporting at the time. A paparazzi had even been arrested within the grounds of the palace attempting to get photos of the two bereaved children. The crown prince had been the same age as him, and he'd had nightmares about his own parents dying for months afterwards.

Since then King John had barely been seen outside his palace and it had been weeks before the press had got wind of the children's disappearances as well. There'd been a lot of ugly rumours about what had happened to them. But the King had refused to comment, and he'd ousted most of the international press from the country so the matter had never been solved. He'd also withdrawn from all the diplomatic treaties, even the naval ones, which had affected trade between Hawaii and the mainland and caused a lot of grief for his subjects. Honestly, Danny had been shocked to see him in attendance today.

Steven stirs beside him. "I don't think you ever really come to terms with losing someone like that." He utters quietly. 

It sounds like there's personal experience behind his words. And Danny so screwed already because he wants to dig out whatever bad memory is causing Steven pain and throw it far, far away. But he can't do that, so he settles for changing the topic instead. 

"So, you're a navy boy. What made you choose that life?"

Steven grins, "Well the girls love a guy in uniform..." he pauses, "and so do some of the boys... But the option to gain citizenship in any kingdom that contributes to the Allied Navy when my time's up was a pretty good incentive too."

"Let me guess, you wanted to get away from some frozen northern kingdom and settle in California?" Danny asks.

"Nah." Steven pauses, "I was actually born in Hawaii so I'm not trying to escape the snow, I just wanted to get out and see the world." Steve sounds a little wistful, like maybe that isn't the whole story. But being from Hawaii would definitely explain his poor opinion of its King.

"Have you made it to the east coast?" Danny asks.

"No, I've been pretty much exclusively stationed with the Pacific Navy." Steve admits.

"Well that is your loss, my friend. You've missed out on visiting the greatest kingdom in all the Allied Realms."

Steven laughs, warm and genuine, and Danny feels a flutter in his stomach. "Let me guess, New Jersey? Land of snow and concrete?"

"Hey! Don't mock my kingdom..."

But before Danny can continue he's interrupted by a shout from inside the building, and the sound of running feet approaching rapidly. "Prince Daniel!"

Steve is on his feet in an instant, standing between Danny and the doorway. At that moment Danny's bodyguard comes running down the hallway, but stops when he sees the open door. "Prince Daniel, are you out there?" The normally stoic man sounds on the edge of panic, and Danny feels guilty for ducking him earlier.

He pushes Steven aside, trying not to dwell on the feeling of hard muscle beneath his hands. "I'm fine, I just needed some fresh air. The Commander here was keeping me company, there's no need to panic."

"Thank god! I couldn't find you in all the confusion and I feared the worst. We have to leave, now." His tone brooked no argument.

And now Danny's starting to worry. Andrews is a good man. Solid and dependable. He's never been this flustered before, especially not over something so minor as losing sight of his charge for a few minutes. 

"What's going on?" Danny demands.

Andrews takes a deep breath and straightens. "There was an assassin, in the ballroom, the King of Hawaii has been shot."

All the colour drains out of Steven's face and he bolts from the balcony. Danny stares wide-eyed at Andrews for a moment and then chases after him. 

"Your highness, stop!" Andrews yells after him. "You can't go back there, the shooter's still at large!"

Danny barely hears him. He curses as he loses ground rapidly to Steven's longer stride, chasing him through the endless palace hallways. He arrives back at the ballroom just in time to see Steve shove his way through the group of people clustered around where King John is lying on the floor, a rapidly spreading pool of blood beneath him. The ballroom is in shambles with overturned tables and smashed china a clear indication of the panic of the fleeing delegates.

Steven lets out an anguished wail and falls to his knees beside the injured monarch. Danny tries to move closer, but is stopped by Andrews' grip on his elbow. "We have to leave now your highness," he insists. "It's not safe here."

"Whoever did this was a professional," Danny protests, "they're probably long gone by now." He shakes off Andrews' hand and moves to where Steve is cradling the King in his arms, pressing his jacket futilely against the blood pulsing from the hole in the King's chest. 

"Dad, no..."

Wait, _what?_

The King is looking up in stunned amazement at the man leaning over him, gripping Steven's arm tightly. "Steven? What... how...?" Whatever's going on it's clear that the King did not expect to see Steven here tonight.

"It's me Dad, it's me. I'm here." There's tears running down Steven's cheeks and his voice cracks. "I'm sorry," he says, "but I just couldn't stay in hiding." 

"No, it's ok Steven. I'm the one who should be apologizing," murmurs the King. "I'm sorry I sent you and Mary away. I was just trying... to protect you. I'm so glad... I got to see you one last time." The King's breathing is becoming more laboured and Danny fears he doesn't have much longer. 

"Dad, stay with me, ok? You've got to stay with me..." Steven begs, but it's clear his father is breathing his last. 

"I love you son... never doubt that." The King is gasping now, each breath harder to draw than the last. "Be careful... he wants to... kill you too... Tell Mary... I'm sorry...."

"Dad? DAD!" Steven cries, but it's clear the old King is gone. 

The silence of the ballroom is deafening, broken only by the soft, choked sobs as Steven curls forward over his father's body.

After a moment where everyone stands frozen, a man detaches himself from the group of onlookers and approaches the awful tableau. He places a hand on Steven's-- _Prince_ Steven's--shoulder. "Sire, come away, please."

Prince Steven flinches at the hand on his shoulder, but slowly stands and wipes at his eyes. He stays turned away from the crowd for a moment and Danny can see the moment he manages to pull himself together, back straightening and shoulders setting firm. 

Then he turns and looks at the small group of that had been surrounding the King. Danny realizes they must be his staff--Steven's staff now he supposes. There's the man who had touched his shoulder; a native Hawaiian with sharp cheekbones, a beautiful young woman, and two men whose demeanor screams bodyguard. As one, they all bow deeply. "Your majesty," the man who approached Steven intones. "We are sorry for your loss."

Steven nods curtly, his face an expressionless mask. "Chin-Ho, thank you." His white shirt is stained red across the front and his face is riven with tear tracks, but he still looks more noble than half the royals Danny had dealt with.. Looking at the young woman he softens fractionally, "Please, find something to cover my father with, and have someone stay with him. I... I don't want him to be alone."

He nods at the two bodyguards and they fall either side of him in as he starts to walk towards the doors. The buzz of whispers from the onlookers rises sharply as he passes. He spares a brief glance backwards, but his face is shuttered and Danny can't think of a single thing to say to make him stay. Then the new King turns and walks from the room, the rest of the small group falling into step behind him. 

Danny becomes aware of Andrews' presence at his side, radiating disapproval. "Can we leave now?" He grouses, "your father is going to be furious I let you put yourself in such danger."

"Don't worry, I'll tell him it wasn't your fault." Danny responds. "He should be used to it by now what with Matty and Eric. I'll just say I had bad influences."

"Fine, but we should leave. There's not going to be any more negotiations tonight," Andrews points out.

Danny finds his eyes drawn down to the slowly drying pool of blood and the crumpled body of the former king at the centre. He nods, not trusting himself to speak and allows himself to be dragged from the ballroom. As they make their way down the hall they run into the young Hawaiian woman returning with a blanket. Danny grabs at her arm as she passes. 

"Miss..?"

"Kalakaua," the woman responds, looking him over suspiciously.

"Miss Kalakaua," Danny continues. "Please tell King Steven he has my most sincere condolences, and if he needs anything, anything at all, I'll do my best to help."

Her eyes soften at Danny's words. "Thank you your highness. We're leaving as soon as we can arrange transport, but I will pass on your message." She bows deeply, then continues towards the ballroom and the completion of her sad task. 

Danny watches her kneel and gently lay the blanket over the body before Andrews hustles him further down the corridor. 

Danny sits up well into the night, too shaken to sleep, but no word comes from the new King of Hawaii. In the morning he finds out that the entire delegation flew out in the middle of the night, taking both the old and the new king home.


	2. Chapter 2

The tabloids managed to drag out the story for nearly three months. They start with breathless recaps of the assassination, interspersed with shocked articles about the reappearance of Crown Prince--now King--Steven, returned from the dead just in time to witness his father's murder. Danny's pathetically grateful there were no photographers around for those final minutes. The tabloids are ghoulish enough without having images of Steven cradling his dying father splashed across the front page. They never managed to catch the shooter, and his motive is still unknown.

The furor was just dying down when Princess Mary made her own return from the dead. Apparently the late King had sent both his children into hiding on the mainland after the death of his wife. Steven had, quite predictably, chafed under this restriction and had escaped his guards and run away. Not even his father knew where. The tabloids however managed to recreate the timeline of his missing years, from his entry into the Naval Academy, his swift rise through the ranks, culminating in his acceptance to the elite SEAL program where he had served with distinction. Most of his file was heavily redacted but the parts that weren't painted an image of a highly skilled and dangerous man who had taken to the military like a duck takes to water and risen quickly through the ranks.

One of the more enterprising news reporters managed to track down some of the men the King had served with. One of them, Danny thinks his name was Freddie, had simply laughed hysterically when asked about his former teammate. 

"I can't believe Smooth Dog's a fucking King. He still owes me from our last poker game the cheap bastard." He'd shaken his head like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard, then his face had turned serious as he'd looked directly at the reporter, "Steven McGarrett is the best man I've ever served with, I owe him my life and if you're here to try and dig up a scandal then you'd best be leaving right now. Got it?"

As far as Danny can tell other than the fact he was secretly royalty Steven doesn't seem to have anything to hide. Everyone who had known him had nothing but good to say about him. Perhaps he was a little closed-off, a little too driven, but a truly good man underneath it all. 

Since there was no dirt to dig up the tabloids had quickly turned to the question of matchmaking. There's been quite the maneuvering from ambitious royal matrons since the assassination. King John had allowed the kingdom to fall into isolationism but Hawaii sits in the middle of all the pacific trade routes and any alliance with its new ruler would be very lucrative. An alliance, especially one sealed by marriage, seems to be on everyone's agenda. 

_Poor bastard._ Danny thinks to himself as he reads the latest newspaper. _Should have stayed in hiding. There's nothing as terrible as an ambitious mother-in-law._

"Ah, Daniel, there you are." 

_Speaking of ambitious mothers..._

"Yes, how rude of me to hide from you, at breakfast time, in the dining room." 

"Don't be smart Daniel." She helps herself to coffee from the sideboard and sits down beside him. "Your father and I have received a treaty offer that we'd like your input on."

"And I've told you a million times, nobody is gonna want to marry Eric once they've met him..."

His mother shoots him a long suffering look. "That's not it at all. Hawaii has proposed a formal trade treaty. They're willing to grant us a portion of their Pacific trade in exchange for a portion of our Atlantic trade routes." 

"Huh..." Danny's surprised. "They didn't want to negotiate with New York instead?" 

Clara sighs, "Contrary to what their citizens think, New York is not the center of the universe. There are one or two other kingdoms on the eastern seaboard worth allying with."

New York and New Jersey may be united by complicated history and various marriages, but they're still competitive as hell. New Jersey having a trade treaty that New York doesn't would certainly infuriate the larger kingdom. Danny's suspicious though, his mother is wearing her innocent face. He's learned the hard way not to trust that face. 

"But still," he remarks, "why Jersey?"

"We'll.. that's where you come in." 

"Me?" Now he's really confused. "I barely met the guy, we talked for a few minutes at most."

"Well apparently you made an impression." His mother continues, she's staring intently into her coffee, stirring it with much more concentration than the operation normally requires. "The treaty contains a marriage clause." 

"Wait, what?!" Danny's jaw drops. "You can't possibly be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"If you think I'm suggesting that you do your family duty and marry their King to seal this treaty, then yes, I am." 

"Wait.. what... You can't be serious!" 

"I've never been so serious." She puts her coffee down and grabs Danny's hands. "You know your father and I allowed you to marry Rachel even though we thought it was a bad idea. We never said _I told you so_ but it has caused a lot of problems for the family. Between that and your brother's misdemeanors it's been a tough few years, the family could do with some good press for a change." 

"This is your chance to try again. Hawaii would be a powerful ally and the treaty their proposing would be very lucrative for the kingdom. Plenty of royals make matches for duty rather than love, and the King isn't too hard on the eyes. If I were twenty years younger..."

"Ma!" Danny does not need that mental image thank you. He's well aware his parents were never fans of his marriage to Rachel, but they'd let him make the love match anyway. On his worst days he wishes they'd stopped him, but then he'd never have had Grace and that's unthinkable. He'd go through his divorce a hundred times over if it meant he'd get to keep Grace. 

Grace...

"There's just one problem. I'm not leaving Grace, and I'm not signing custody over to Rachel while I move to another kingdom in the middle of the pacific." Danny sits back and crosses his arms, if his mother is going to be completely unreasonable, then so will he. "I'm not leaving my daughter." 

His mother grins and Danny's stomach drops. "Well, then I have good news for you. The marriage contract includes provision for Grace to accompany you as your heir, and if the King's sister never has children she could very well be in line for the throne some day." She leans back with a smug smile, her trump card played. "Rachel might be able to get the courts to rule her way in a strictly family custody case, but if there's an international treaty concerning Grace's guardianship then they'll abide by the terms of the contract. You'll get to keep custody of Grace until she comes of age, unless _she_ chooses to transfer custody to her mother."

She looks at him a little sadly. "It really is the best deal for everyone you know. And treaty marriages aren't all bad, look at your father and I. We'd never even see each before our wedding, but we slowly got to know one another and we've been in love for nearly forty years now. At least you've met your fiancé."

Danny sits shell shocked. His future seems to have closed in around him without him having any say about it. Every protest has been countered, and every objection overruled. 

It looks like he's moving to Hawaii. 

"When would the treaty be ratified?" He asks quietly. 

"It will take a few weeks or so to hammer out all the fine details before it's ready for ratification, and your marriage would take place soon afterwards."

"Do you think the King would accept a small quiet wedding?" Danny asks. "I really don't want to go through the full pomp and pageantry again."

"We can make it a condition of the treaty." His mother says. "Locals only, no full diplomatic corps or foreign royal families."

Danny nods absently, his head spinning. A few weeks of freedom. A few weeks before he has to leave everyone he knows and cares about and move to the other side of the planet. Danny curses the fates that let him be born royal, unable to control his own life. But it means he gets to keep Grace. If it means getting to stay close to his daughter he'd do a lot worse. 

And Steven, _King Steven,_ what the hell is he getting out of all of this?

\---

Three weeks seem to fly by in no time at all and today is the day that the Hawaiian delegation arrives to sign the treaty and collect Grace and Danny. Grace has barely slept these last weeks, overcome with excitement since Danny told her they were moving to Hawaii. She's been begging Danny nonstop to allow her to learn to surf when they get there. Danny however, is absolutely determined that no daughter of his is going to do something so dangerous. There are _sharks_ in the ocean around Oahu for Christ's sake. 

He still can't really believe he'd agreed to this, but his parents' approving looks, coupled with Grace's obvious excitement had broken his resolve. At best it could be a fresh start, away from the shadows of his marriage that haunt every corner of Jersey, and at worst it would get him and his daughter away from the paparazzi. Hawaii's always been a very private kingdom and King Steven is even more reluctant to admit foreign press to the island that his father had been. Which was good, because the furor generated by the announcement of the treaty and their wedding was not going to die down anytime soon. 

The bright spring sunshine beams down upon them as Danny holds tight to Grace's hand and glances sideways at Stella. They're waiting at the bottom of the wide stone steps that lead from the private reception courtyard up to the main palace entrance. The high palace walls surrounding them usually give Danny a sense of security, but today it feel like they're about to collapse in on him. At least the Hawaiian delegation should be here soon, he needs to move, to work out some of the coiled tension in his muscles. The waiting is killing him. 

"Relax," Stella comments. "You look like you're about to be led to the gallows."

"Relax she says," Danny grouses. "There wasn't this much pressure on _your_ marriage." 

Stella shoots him a hurt look and Danny is instantly contrite. "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean... you know..." It's been nearly ten years since Richard died, but it's still a sore subject with his sister. Especially since Eric could really use a father to keep him in check. "You know when I'm nervous my mouth operates without my brain. Sorry."

At that moment the cars of the arriving delegation pull up the gravel drive and Danny is forced to turn away from his sister and back to his duty. 

The first person to exit the car is an older woman, elegant and poised, but with laughter lines around her eyes. She's wearing a sensible pantsuit in an eye-watering orange with a bright scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. 

Danny takes a step forward and bows deeply. "Lady Deborah, welcome to Jersey."

King Steven's aunt laughs and waves her hand. "Please, call me Deb. There's no need to stand on formality Daniel, after all we're practically family," and she pulls him into a tight hug. Danny stiffens before awkwardly putting his arms around Deb and gingerly returning the embrace. 

Pulling back Deb turns and crouches down to face Grace next to him. "And you must be Princess Grace. I'm very pleased to meet you, I do hope we're going to be friends." She holds her hand out and Grace shyly takes it. 

"Nice to meet you," she mumbles, 

Standing back up Deb looks towards Stella. 

"Lady Deb, Crown Princess Stella." Danny introduces. Deb gives Stella a warm embrace and a kiss on both cheeks. 

"I was sorry to hear that the King couldn't make it." Stella comments. 

"Yes, well my nephew seems to think that being King means you have to be there for every emergency, no matter how small. He hasn't quite realized that you're allowed to have fun once in awhile. Worst case of duty I've ever seen." Deb laments. "I'm sure I'll break him of it someday, but for now it's a work in progress. Not that he isn't upset that he's missing out on seeing you." She hurries to assure Danny. 

Danny ignore the niggling feeling in his gut that something is amiss. Crisis' do occur and ruling a country is never a predictable job but he can't help feeling the King is making excuses. He'd adhered scrupulously to royal protocol by sending his Aunt in his place, but a small part of Danny feels slighted nonetheless. 

By this time the rest of the entourage has emerged from their vehicles and are milling around at the bottom of the steps to the palace. 

"If you and your companions would like to come with me," Stella says, "we'll take to you the throne room to finish the introductions and then we can show you to your rooms." She gestures and starts making her way up the steps accompanied by Deb. 

Danny falls into place behind them and finds himself confronted by a familiar face. "Miss Kalakaua, it's good to see you again. How was the trip?" 

"Kono, please." She laughs. "Miss Kalakaua sounds like I'm about to get in trouble." She's wearing sensible boots and dark pants, and her flowing top does little to hide the gun at her hip. She looks harder than Danny remembers, but he supposes that's to be expected.

"The trip was fine," she continues, "and I'm very glad we could meet again under more pleasant circumstances. Although you couldn't have waited a few more months to tie the knot? I'm missing out on the best surfing while I'm here." It takes Danny a moment to realize she's teasing him. The Hawaiians are certainly more laid back than the royal functionaries he's used to dealing with. 

Grace is staring up at Kono with unabashed hero worship. "You can surf?" She asks. 

"Of course princess." Kono replies looking down at her with a smile. "Everyone surfs in Hawaii. We'll have you and your father out on boards in no time." 

If possible Grace's eyes get even wider. "Really!? I get to learn to surf?" 

"NO. Absolutely not." Danny says glaring daggers at Kono. "Royals do not surf."

"Well you better be the one to tell the King that," Kono replies, unfazed by Danny's annoyance. She looks down at Grace and winks. "He goes surfing all the time." 

Danny looks down at where Grace is practically vibrating with excitement. King Steven has a lot to answer for already and they haven't even left Jersey yet. 

\----

Deb leans over and affixes the King's seal to the wax, finalizing the treaty. "There we go, done." The throne room is fairly empty, just Danny's parents, the rest of his family, Grace and the Hawaiian delegation are here to witness the ratification of the trade treaty. And of course several long-serving members of the royal press corps. The media had accepted Danny's request for privacy with bad grace but eventually capitulated with the compromise that they would all be allowed access to the official photos.

Straightening up, Deb motions to Kono to step forward and relieves her of the two small boxes she is carrying. 

"In anticipation of their arrival the King wanted to present these gifts to his consort and his daughter." She hands the boxes to Danny and Grace and smiles warmly. "Welcome to the family."

Grace opens her box and gasps in delight. Nestled on soft velvet is a stunning black pearl necklace with matching earnings. The pearls seem to glow with their own lustre and Grace looks up at Deb with wide eyes. "They're beautiful... they're really for me?" 

"Of course sweetheart. Beautiful pearls for a beautiful princess." Deb winks. Today she's wearing an outfit with an eye-wateringly bright floral pattern. Danny's starting to understand why everyone in Hawaii wears sunglasses all the time.

"Danno, can I wear them now?" Grace is looking up at him with wide eyes. It would take a stronger man than Danny to resist her entreaty, luckily he doesn't want to.

"Of course Monkey," he takes the case from her and kneels down so he can clasp the necklace around her neck. "And we'll be sure to thank King Steven for his very generous gift when we see him. Alright?"

Grace nods her assent and looks at the box in Danny's hands. "What about your present Danno?"

Danny looks at the box with curiosity. It's a little smaller than Grace's, about the shape of a ring box. He lifts the lid and looks inside. It's a set of cufflinks. They're round silver, inlaid with black and grey stone shaped to form a wave. 

"It's Hawaiian obsidian and granite from New Jersey." Deb says. "Steven wanted something to symbolize the union of the two nations." 

Grace pulls his hands down so she can get a look in the box. "They're pretty." She comments. "Are you going to wear them now?"

Deb steps forwards, "let me help you." She extracts them from the box and fixes them to his cuffs, pulling his sleeves straight as she does. "There, perfect." She rubs her hands. "Now I believe someone said something about dinner once this thing was signed?"

Danny's mother laughs, she and Deb have become fast friends in the few days the Hawaiian delegation has been in Jersey. Danny worries for what that portends for the future. "Of course, the chef has been busy all day preparing it." She waves towards the doors and the press is gently but firmly ejected from the room now the official portion of the evening is done. 

"This way," she gestures, leading the way arm in arm with Deb with the King following behind her. 

As everyone else files out of the room Danny stops to look down at his cuffs. The black and grey swirls before his eyes and the wave seems to move. Something to symbolize unity huh? Perhaps this marriage isn't the craziest decision he's ever made.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New year everyone! Have some fic to celebrate.

Danny is startled from his doze by Grace's excited shout. 

"Look Danno, you can see the island!" 

Through the tiny window of the the plane the endless scene of blue rolling waters interspersed with puffy white clouds has now changed to reveal a tropical coastline spread with golden beaches and backed with sharp green mountains. Danny's sure to anyone else it would appear beautiful, Grace certainly seems enraptured, her nose pressed against the tiny oval window to get a better look, but it makes him tense. 

This is his kingdom now. 

No more concrete and skyscrapers, now he has to get used to sand and palm trees.

Kono leans over his shoulder and points out the window. "That's Makapu'u point, and that crater is Koko head, it's an extinct volcano, but not the biggest one on the island, that's Diamond Head. We'll fly right over it on our way to the airport." 

"Are there diamonds there?" Grace asks.

Kono laughs, "The first explorers saw light sparkling off the rocks there and through it was diamonds, but it was just a bunch of worthless calcite crystals. For some reason though, the name stuck." 

"Oh." Grace sounds disappointed. 

"Don't worry keiki, there are more exciting things than diamonds in Hawaii."

"Really?" Grace doesn't sound convinced.

"Really. Did you know that whales migrate to Hawaii every winter to give birth to their calves? Sometimes you can even see them from the palace. It's one of the big tourism draws for the kingdom."

"A bunch of people come all this way to look at some overgrown fish?" Danny's heard stupider things, but not many.

Grace shoots him a look that tells him he's being cranky, but Kono just shrugs it off. "Well that and the fact we have a near perfect climate. I've seen pictures of winter in Jersey and it's pretty, but I'd much rather have summer all year long."

"Trust me kiddo," Deb pipes up from the seat in front of them, "You experience one winter and you're good. Snow may look pretty on television and Christmas cards, but in reality it's cold and wet and miserable. Just be grateful we didn't have to travel to the east coast in February." 

Danny scrunches down in his seat and listens to Grace interrogate Kono and Deb about their new home until they have to buckle in for the landing. 

Once down on solid ground again they're whisked away to a line of nondescript black town cars. Deb and her bodyguard take the lead car, Danny, Grace and Kono the second, and the rest of their entourage and luggage is piled into the third. 

The city they pass through is nothing like back home. The light is too bright and there's too much greenery everywhere. Also the people are nothing like he's used to. Everyone looks way too laid back and casual to be living in the capital. Everyone's in beach wear and there's not a tie in sight. How the hell does this country manage such an effective trading empire when they can't even be bothered to wear real shoes?

His train of thought is abruptly derailed as they turn down the private driveway toward the palace. It sits on a wide swathe of perfectly manicured green lawn, bordered by the omnipresent palm trees. The palace is gleaming white in the sun and consists of a main section flanked by two wings that stretch back towards the sea. There's a massive portico over the main entrance and elegant pillars support balconies which stretch across every available surface. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. 

"Oh wow...." Grace is suitably impressed. 

As the car sweeps around the drive Danny can see the welcoming party standing on the front steps. King Steven is standing front and center surrounded by various members of the royal household. There's also a small contingent of press and photographers off to the side jostling and elbowing each other in an attempt to secure the best position to see the new arrivals. Danny's pulse starts to race and he opens his mouth to protest.

"Sorry your highness, we kept them away from the airport but we had to give them something in return." Kono looks apologetic. "Five minutes then we'll be inside and you won't have to face them again until the wedding." 

Danny's retort dies on his lips and he nods, ungracefully. "Fine, but they don't get to question Grace."

Kono looks shocked, "Of course not. What kind of monsters do you have on the mainland?"

"Ones who will do anything for a story, including traumatizing an eight year old."

Kono's face is stone. "We don't stand for that sort of thing here, and Steve's already annoyed enough with the press over all the coverage of his family the last few months. They know they're on thin ice with him so they'll behave, don't you worry."

Danny nods and as the car pulls to a stop directly across from the front entrance. He steels himself and turns to Grace. "Ok monkey, we're here. Now remember your manners and remember to thank the King for the gift he sent."

Grace is looking at all the people standing on the steps. "Danno, do we have to?" Her voice is small and Danny thanks whatever gods are listening that the glass on the car is tinted so they have one last moment of privacy before facing the photographers. 

"We do sweetheart. But as soon as we're done here we'll go somewhere quiet and find some dinner, ok?"

"Ok." 

Grace grips his hand tightly as an attendant opens the car door and Danny steps out to meet his future husband. His heart is beating wildly and he's not sure if it's the flurry of flashbulbs going off from the press or from the fact that his fiancé is finally standing there in front of him. 

Danny feels like he spent the last ten hours in a flying tin can and the King looks like he just walked off a fashion shoot. He's wearing a charcoal grey suit with a black shirt open at the neck, and it takes every ounce of self control Danny possesses not to fall to his knees and thank god for his good fortune. Even if nothing else works out at least he's gonna have some beautiful scenery to stare at across the breakfast table for the rest of his life. 

The King strides forward with an easy confidence that makes Danny's palms sweat and his mouth go dry. He swallows nervously. King Steven's smiling, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Nevertheless he clasps Danny's hand warmly and says "Welcome to Oahu Daniel. I can't tell you how pleased I am that you accepted my proposal." Then Steven quickly drops his gaze and looks at Grace, huddled tightly against Danny's leg. 

"And you must be Princess Grace, It's very nice to meet you." He crouches down and holds out his hand awkwardly towards her. Grace glances up at Danny, then back at the King kneeling in front of her. Solemnly she reaches out her small hand and it's enclosed in his much larger one as the King gently shakes it. Danny swears he can hear an audible _Awwww_ from the press pen and the flashes double in frequency. 

"It's very nice to meet you too." She says quietly. "Thank you for the necklace you sent me. I love it very much." Then she buries her head back in Danny's side and mumbles something almost too low to hear. The King looks at Danny in confusion. 

"It's been a long trip," Danny explains, "and she gets shy when she's tired."

Steven looks instantly contrite, as though the fact that neither his royal upbringing nor Naval training had taught him to comfort tired children is an inexcusable failing. "If you want to pick her up, we'll do a quick pose for the cameras then we'll get inside." 

Danny nods, grateful this ordeal is almost over with. Grace hides her face in his neck when he hoists her onto his hip but the press don't seem to care. Steven puts his hand on the small of Danny's back and they photographers happily snap pictures for a minute before Steven signals that they're done and guides Danny inside the main doors. 

\---

If Danny thought the outside of the palace was overdone the inside seems ever more so. The marble floored entryway leads into a massive foyer. Straight ahead there's a staircase which splits and curves around in either direction to the upper floors. He feels dwarfed by the set of open doors to the left that lead into what looks to be the throne room, and the back wall of the foyer is made up of floor to ceiling windows that look out onto a lush private courtyard which sweeps down towards a pristine beach. 

Danny doesn't want to gawk like a tourist, but he can't help himself. Even Grace seems to have forgotten her shyness and is staring around wide-eyed at her new home. He catches Kono looking at him. "Like what you see?" She asks. 

Danny stops himself from glancing over at Steven again before he replies. "It could grow on me." 

"Stevie's great-grandfather commissioned the original building back in the 40's," Deb pipes up from the rear of the group, "after the royal household outgrew the Iolani Palace downtown. The building's been added to extensively since then of course."

"It's certainly very... grand." Danny responds. 

The King ducks his head as though he agrees with the not-quite compliment. 

Deb laughs loudly. "It's completely ostentatious and you know it, but it certainly impresses the foreign dignitaries." 

A clattering noise heralds someone's arrival down the staircase. It's a young woman, looking flustered and hurriedly smoothing her messy blonde hair as she rushes up to the group. "I'm sorry..."

The King just shakes his head, "Really Mare, again?"

"I lost track of time," she folds her arms and stares down her brother. 

He makes a face that suggests he's heard that excuse too many times before, but then he gestures at Danny. "Daniel, may I present my sister, Princess Mary. Mary, Prince Daniel." 

Mary's looks Danny up and down with blatant curiosity. "So this is the face that sold my brother on a trade treaty with the east coast." She grins at him and winks, "I think I see the appeal now." 

She punches her brother in the arm. "If he weren't marrying you I might try and steal him away."

Steven honest to god blushes, and Danny can't seem to find words to respond. They're both saved by Deb. 

"Mary! Stop teasing your brother. Come here kiddo and give your aunt a hug, I missed you." Mary allows herself to be drawn into an embrace, and then Deb deftly steers her back upstairs chatting all about her trip to Jersey.

King Steven stares after them. "I apologize for my sister. She can be a bit much." 

"It's ok," Danny responds. "I have two sisters of my own. I understand." Compared to Stella, Mary barely even registers. He doesn't think he'll ever live down the embarrassment of having her walking in on him practicing his proposal to Rachel. She'd nearly collapsed from laughing at him which hadn't done his ego any favours. And then she'd told Bridget.

Steven shoots him a quick relieved glance and starts walking again, Danny hoists Grace onto his hip and trails along in the King's wake. They pass through another hallway and down one of the wings into a good sized reception hall.

Steve comes to a stop in front of a line of people. "May I present the palace staff?" 

Internally Danny sighs, he just wants to sit down and relax for a moment, but he nods anyway. 

"This is Chin my Chamberlain, and his wife Malia, Jenna Kaye is in charge of intelligence, and this is her aide Jerry, Lou here is in charge of palace security, Kono and Meka here work for him. Max is our expert on royal protocol, if you have any questions about what your duties would be here he'd be the person to ask, and lastly Kamekona is our chief cook." 

Danny makes his way down the lineup shaking everyone's hand. 

"Welcome, brah," the big man at the end says. "Your little keiki looks hungry. Do you think she'd like a cookie?" He holds one out and Grace snatches at it eagerly. 

"Woah, remember your manners," Danny scolds. 

"Thank you." Grace mumbles around a mouth full of crumbs. Good enough for now Danny decides. 

Steve moves to take his elbow and steers him towards a side room, Chin, Lou, Kono and Meka following behind. 

The room turns out to be an office. There's a big desk, and plenty of plush chairs. Danny lowers himself and Grace into one with a relieved sigh. She's getting too big to carry for long, although he'd cut his arm off before he'd ever admit it. 

Kono takes a seat to his side and attempts to ply Grace with some more cookies that Kamekona has provided. It doesn't take much convincing. 

Steven clears his throat and Danny turns to where he's standing behind the desk. "Daniel, I know you must be tired from your long journey, but I just wanted to get a few things sorted out as soon as possible. As you know Hawaii is a peaceful kingdom, but every member of the royal family is still assigned a bodyguard." He pauses and looks around the room, "I know you haven't met everyone yet, but I'd like to recommend that Kono takes that role for Grace." 

Danny looks over at Kono. "That seems reasonable," he hedges, at least it's someone familiar, and Grace likes her.

"And for your bodyguard I would recommend Meka. He's one of our best." The man in question grins and waves his hand with the thumb and pinky fingers extended. Danny hopes it's a friendly gesture, the wide smile on the man's face suggests it is. 

"Now, you are not to leave the palace without one or both of your bodyguards present under any circumstances..." Steven states.

"What?" Danny indignantly sputters, "even outside on the grounds?"

The King's face is deadly serious and he crosses his arms decisively. "Even then."

Danny looks at Meka again who sheepishly shrugs his shoulders. "Sorry brah, orders."

The King's face hardens and he claps his hands together, "Now if that's all settled I have some important matters I must attend to. Meka, if you would please show Prince Daniel to the rooms that have been prepared. Chin, if you wouldn't mind..." and he waves the man in question over to his side." 

They share a look that Danny can't interpret. The King's sudden change of attitude seems to have them confused as well. But he's being ushered back out of the room and up the stairs by Meka before he can comment, Kono trailing behind holding Grace. 

\---

The room he's escorted to is utterly ridiculous. He'd known that the pacific trade monopoly was lucrative, but this is almost obscene. The sitting room is at least as big as his entire suite of rooms had been back home. Dark wood floors set off the white walls and the furniture is minimal but elegant and speaks of refined taste. Sunlight streams through the floor to ceiling windows that make up one entire wall, showcasing a breathtaking view of the immaculately tended garden courtyard below and the wide sandy beach beyond. 

The first sight of the room rouses Grace from her tiredness and she squirms from Kono's arms to run to the window. "Look Danno! We're right on the beach! Do you think they'll let me go swimming?"

Meka grins, "The King goes swimming there every morning so I can assure you, and your father, it's perfectly safe." He looks at Danny. "I'm sorry it's not as grand as the royal consort's apartments, but the King thought you would prefer this suite since it has a room for Grace." He steps toward a side door which he opens to reveal a bedroom done out in tasteful pinks and yellows which also looks out over the beach. 

"I love it!" Grace yells as she runs into the room to explore it more fully.

"Grace, no running inside!" Danny calls after her, but he knows it's a lost cause. If the delighted squeals floating through the open doorway are anything to go by she's never going to want to leave. 

Kono grins at him and waves him toward the second door on the opposite side of the sitting room. "Go check out your room your highness. I'll wrangle Grace." 

His own room is decorated in light shades of blue. There's a small seating area, a wide bed with several chests of drawers and the ever-present wall of windows is actually a set of French doors that leads out to a wide balcony... _lanai,_ he corrects himself. Danny takes it all in silently. He's not much for interior decorating, but even he can see the obvious quality of the furniture and the art on the walls all appear to be originals. He's never been impressed by blatant displays of wealth, but the casualness with which such obvious riches are not even commented on is throwing him a little. If this is a second rate suite of rooms he's a little afraid to see the consort's apartments. He'd be too nervous to touch anything. 

He opens the French doors and steps outside, hoping the fresh air will help clear his head. 

"Danno!" Grace appears at his side, dragging a bemused Kono by the hand. "You have to come see my room, it's amazing... oh, your room is blue..." 

"His majesty chose the colours himself," Kono comments. 

"...and there's a balcony I can use everyday cause it never snows and I think I'm going to love it here..." Grace trails off overwhelmed by the possibilities of her new home. 

"Well, we'll have to thank the King for picking such a great room for you, won't we." Danny looks over at Kono, "When will we be seeing his Majesty again?" 

"Not until tomorrow," Kono replies. "He thought you would be tired after such a long journey and prefer to have some time to recover and settle in before the official ceremonies begin. Meka has your schedule, but the morning is the official portraits, followed by a formal lunch and then a tour of the city." She makes a slight bow. "If your highness will excuse me, I'll go and supervise the delivery of your luggage and arrange for some food to be brought up to you." 

Danny nods and Kono withdraws, closing the lanai doors to give him and Grace some privacy. Danny sits down on one of the chairs and Grace clambers into his lap, still chattering away about dolphins and surfing and how Hawaii must be the best kingdom ever.

He's relieved to see her so happy, but his own feelings are becoming more and more unsettled by the moment. After Rachel he didn't think he'd ever marry again, he was just fine staying out of the spotlight and raising his daughter. But now he's been drawn back in and this is his last week of freedom before he has to take up royal duties again as the prince consort in a foreign kingdom. And what the hell is going on with his fiancé? 

Grace must sense his mood because she suddenly throws her arms around him and hugs him tight. "I love you Danno." 

"Danno loves you too monkey." He resolutely takes all his negative thoughts, packs them up and puts them away in the back of his mind. He has Grace, that's all he needs. As long as he can be near her everything else doesn't matter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Grace is adorable, Steven is inscrutable, Danny is frustrated and the plot thickens.

Despite the luxurious bed Danny sleeps poorly that night and the morning finds him sitting out on the balcony glaring at the horizon. In contrast with his mood the sunrise seems to have gone out of its way to be obnoxiously perfect. The world is painted in a warm golden light and the ocean seems nearly to glow. 

Danny slumps low in his seat and wishes for rain.

He hadn't expected the King to fall to his knees and profess undying love yesterday, but the cold formality he'd been presented with had been unexpected. He'd thought there'd been a spark there when they'd first met, but now he's starting to doubt his memory. 

The kingdom is beautiful and the palace is beyond stunning, and Grace is overjoyed with their good fortune, but Danny is getting more and more confused. Perhaps it's just the effect of the long journey. Perhaps he'd been more brusque than he'd intended and that had caused Steven's coolness towards him. Perhaps...

At that moment he's distracted by movement in the garden below. A middle aged Asian man is making his way across the perfectly manicured lawn towards the far wing of the palace. Perhaps a gardener getting an early start to his work? Right now Danny would give anything to trade places with him. Give him a simple job and a small, peaceful life and he'd be satisfied. 

The man passes out of sight behind some bushes and Danny idly wonders how many people it must take to keep the garden in such pristine condition. The lawn is so perfectly manicured it looks like a green carpet, and against the normal order of things back in Jersey every plant is flowering at the same time creating a profusion of colour. There's also a very large tree of a type Danny's never seen before that casts its shadow over half of the courtyard, and because everything in this kingdom has to be a little weird it has what look like roots growing down from its branches. 

A noise from inside distracts his attention and he stretches before standing and going inside to find a servant setting out an impressive breakfast tray in the main room. 

"Your highness." The man bows. "Please let me know if there's anything else you desire."

"As long as there's coffee hiding on that tray somewhere I'll be just fine."

At his comment the man produces a carafe and pours Danny the most amazing cup of coffee he's ever tasted. 

Ok, so maybe this new life has some good points after all.

\----

"Danno, can we go to the beach today?" 

"You've been awake what, five whole minutes, at that's the first thing you think of?"

"Uh huh." 

"You know we're getting our portraits taken this morning, right?"

"But that's not for hours." She pouts. "Please..."

Danny turns to Kono who'd arrived shortly after the breakfast. She shrugs. "I just have to make sure you're all dressed up and in the throne room at eleven, what we get up to before then is up to you."

"Fine, but when I say we have to leave, we're leaving. Got it?" He reaches out his hand to make Grace shake on it. 

"Yay!" She practically flies to her room to get ready and Danny shakes his head. Oh to be young and full of that much energy again. 

He throws on a pair of khakis and a button down shirt while Grace fidgets impatiently. He glances at himself in the mirror and notices his shirt is a little see-through. It's far too hot here for an undershirt so he throws on a waistcoat instead. At least that way he can pretend he's being fashionable. Meka appears as if by magic as they make their way downstairs and outside, pointing out the different native plants in the garden to a curious Grace. 

There's a line of beach chairs along the edge of the sand and Danny picks one in the shade. The sun is already getting hot, despite the early hour. Grace runs out to the water immediately, closely followed by Kono, and starts splashing around in the shallows. Danny can already tell he's going to have to pick up some more swimwear for her. He sees the beach playing a very prominent role in their future. 

Meka plops himself down in the chair next to Danny and hands him a folder. 

"What's this?" Danny asks.

"Homework." Meka grins. "It's background on the history of the royal family here, information on the organizations that the various members are patrons of, some background on the country and profiles of all the important staff." 

Danny eyes the folder warily. "There gonna be a test later?"

"No brah," Meka responds. "Max just thought you might want to be informed."

Danny takes the folder and glances at the first page. It's incredibly dry. He looks out at Grace and Kono splashing around and laughing in the waves and then back at the sheaf of pages in his hand. Oh well.

He's barely two pages in when Meka straightens from his lazy sprawl beside him. He looks up just in time to see Steven emerge from the ocean. 

It's quite the sight. 

The King's blue swim trunks are plastered to his legs and water is cascading down his the hard planes of his chest and abs. He shakes his head spraying water everywhere and reaches up to wipe the water from his eyes as Danny stares.

The King has tattoos.

There are two of them, curling over each bicep, the ink pouring like dark water over the the muscles. Danny wants to get closer, wants to memorize every line of those tattoos, possibly trace them with his tongue. He swallows with an audible click. 

Steven sees him staring and jogs up the beach to where Danny and Meka are sitting. He has a strange expression on his face as he looks at Danny. Danny glances down at himself self-consciously but he looks perfectly presentable. Maybe Hawaii has different standards for beach wear? When he looks again the expression is gone, replaced with one of polite formality. 

"Daniel." Steven inclines his head. "Enjoying the beach?"

"I'm not much of a beach person," Danny grumbles. "Too much sand, and sharks, and the chance of sunburn." 

Steven frowns. "Seriously? Who doesn't like the beach?" 

"Plenty of people, of which I am one."

"So why are you here then?" He asks. 

"Grace wanted to go swimming." Danny answers.

Steven gives him a searching look. "You'd really do anything for her, wouldn't you."

Danny gives him an incredulous look. "She's my daughter, of course I would."

Steven's face scrunches up like the thought of Danny indulging his daughter is giving him an aneurysm. Then he walks over and grabs his towel from a nearby chair. He turns back towards the ocean and starts toweling himself off. Danny takes a moment to enjoy the view in front of him.

Grace chooses that moment to come running up the beach. "Danno! Come join us!" She pulls on his hand. 

"Not today Gracie. I've got paperwork to read." 

Grace pouts. Then notices the King standing there. "Good morning King Steven," she says politely.

"Please Grace," Steven replies. "Call me Steve."

"Kono says you know how to surf," Grace says. "Is that true?"

"Of course." Steve crouches down so he can talk to her face to face, "Everyone in Hawaii knows how to surf."

"See Danno! Royals can too surf!" Grace looks at him triumphantly. Then she turns back to Steven "Please can you teach me..."

The King looks startled for a moment, but then his face sets with determination. "Of course I can, as long as your father agrees..."

Steven turns to look at Danny and those two should not be able to give him the same puppy dog eyes. It's not fair, how can he defend against that. 

"Well maybe we'll consider it," Danny hedges. "But not this morning." 

"Shake?" Grace prompts. 

Danny sighs, but reaches out and shakes her hand. She grins then turns and runs back to Kono, mollified for now. 

"...so Danno?" Steven says.

"Don't call me that." Danny grumbles. "That's a me and Gracie thing." 

The King gives him an inscrutable look then sits back in his chair and closes his eyes. "We've really got to work on your relaxation skills... Danno."

Danny sputters in indignation but then sighs and decides to give up. He leans back and admires the view for another long moment, earning a smirk from Meka. Blushing he turns back to his folder. 

He's just struggled through another page of incredibly dry prose when Chin comes running up. The King sits up, instantly all business. "Chin, what's wrong." 

The man in question glances quickly around at the rest of the group, eyes lingering on Danny for a moment at the end before he leans over and whispers in the King's ear. 

Steven's face freezes into a blank mask. He looks up at Chin. "Are you sure."

"I am, the intel comes from one of Kamekona's cousins, but it's all the way on the north shore..."

Steven stands quickly. He bows stiffly towards Danny. "Daniel, I regret that an issue has come to my attention that I must deal with. Please excuse me."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Danny asks. 

Steven looks pained for a moment before shaking his head. "Stay and spend time with Grace. Kono!" He calls out. When she comes running up he clasps her on the shoulder and gives her some instructions too quietly for Danny to hear, then he turns and strides after Chin back towards the palace. 

Danny looks at Kono and raises an eyebrow. She just shrugs. "He said to try and change your mind about the surfing." She grins, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. 

What is going on here?

\---

Steven doesn't make it to the portrait sitting. The photographer mutters under his breath about Kings who think everything can be 'fixed in photoshop' but grudgingly agrees to photograph Danny and Grace by themselves. 

Danny has no problem affecting a solemn demeanor as he's still puzzling over the King's behavior this morning. He'd seemed reasonably relaxed and at ease until Chin had appeared, then someone else had taken his place. Someone hard and cold. 

Over lunch Danny attempts to grill Meka about the King's sudden disappearance but his bodyguard remains tight lipped answering all Danny's questions with a brief "I don't know brah, nobody tells me anything around here."

The tour of the city afterwards is an even worse disaster. Since the King still hasn't returned Mary is drafted in her brother's stead. She spends half the tour flirting outrageously with Danny and the other half getting into mischief with Grace. By the time they make it back to the palace Danny is tired, cranky, and has a similarly tired and cranky Grace to contend with. Since the King still hasn't returned. He pleads exhaustion and has dinner sent up to his and Grace's rooms. 

To top it all off whoever does the cleaning has left the box with his cuff links open on top of the dresser. He glares at them angrily before snapping the box shut and stuffing it at the back of his sock drawer. It takes forever to get Grace settled that evening and by the time he collapses into his own bed in exhaustion he's at least relieved to think that the next day can't possibly be any worse. 

\-----

How wrong he was.

The next morning Grace insists on going down to the beach again. This morning Steven is waiting for them, standing next to a brand new pink surfboard. 

"No! No, no, no..." But Grace has deployed the puppy dog eyes and Danny knows he's going to have to cave. He tries glaring at Steven but the guy just grins wider his whole face alight with delight for pleasing Danny's daughter. And really, how can he say no to that?

"Oh come on Danno. She'll never be a proper princess in Hawaii until she learns how to surf. Think of it as part of her royal lessons." 

Grace is vibrating with excitement now, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the two men. 

"No." Danny refuses to be swayed by the two sets of puppy dog eyes turned his way. "It's too dangerous, she's too young." 

"The beach here is probably the safest on the island, and between Kono and I she'll be in the best possible hands. Trust me."

Danny stares into Steve's hazel eyes and sees nothing but honest pleading. There's no guile there, the man honestly believes Danny's daughter will be perfectly safe with nothing between her and a watery death but a thin piece of fiberglass.

"Trust you? Then tell me what was going on yesterday." Danny demands. 

Steven's face shutters and his grin fades. Danny continues to stare at him, he's not going to be the one who backs down here. The air is charged with tension and Meka shuffles his feet nervously behind Danny. 

The moment is broken when Danny feels a tug on his hand and turns to look down at Grace. 

"Please Danno..." Her upper lip is quivering and Danny knows he's finished. He shoots one last glare at Steven to let him know this conversation is not over, then kneels down before his daughter. 

"Ok... but on two conditions." 

Grace jumps up in the air and squeals in delight. 

"One," Danny continues, "you listen to what Steven and Kono tell you and you do everything they say. If they say it's time to stop, it's time to stop. Got it?" 

"Got it Danno."

"And two, you have to study hard and behave yourself. Surfing is a privilege, it will be taken away for bad behavior." He holds out his hand, pinky finger extended. Grace steps forward and very solemnly pinky swears with him. 

"I promise Danno."

He stands and stares at Steven with all the authority he can muster. "You better promise too, you take care of my baby girl or I will end you, King or no."

Steve looks faintly hurt, "I promise you, I would never let anything happen to her." Sincerity radiates out of every pore and Danny feels a little bit better, but he still holds his hand out to shake on it anyway. 

The kings grip is warm and firm and despite his misgivings Danny feels butterflies in his stomach at the touch.

"Alright then." He nods, "Well you two fish go and enjoy yourselves. I'll watch from right here."

Steven looks him up and down contemplatively. "You sure you don't want to join us?"

"Nope. I'm perfectly happy sitting right here."

Steven shakes his head. "We'll get you out there eventually."

"Oh ha, ha." 

It's actually almost an hour before they even get into the water. Steve and Kono take a long time showing Grace the basics on the beach. How to stand up properly, the proper stance, and how to paddle. By the time they finally enter the water and paddle out to where the waves are breaking just off shore Danny feels a bit calmer. He's still got his eyes glued to Grace though, just in case. 

Steven takes the first wave to show her the proper method, standing tall and proud and riding the small wave nearly all the way back to the beach. He hops off his board in the shallows and waves to Kono and Grace that's he's made it. He shakes the water out of his hair and makes his way to the edge of the water near where Danny is sitting. 

"See Danno, it's perfectly safe."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it." 

Steven looks hurt and turns back to the water. 

Then it's Grace's turn, She turns her little board towards shore and manages to stand up on her first try. She wobbles for a minute, then loses her balance and falls headfirst into the waves. Danny's on his feet in an instant, running down to the water's edge, but she pops back up again almost immediately and Kono is there in another moment to help her back onto her board. 

While Danny fights to get his heart rate under control Grace stands back up the board and manages to balance the rest of the way to the shore. 

She comes running up the beach. "Danno! Did you see me?" 

"I did Monkey, you were amazing." He picks her up and spins her around careless of how she's soaking wet. 

"Next time I'm gonna make it all the way." She proclaims. 

"Well as long as you don't hit any dolphins..." Danny teases. He puts her down so she can run back to Kono, waiting patiently in the shallows to paddle out for another run. 

He turns to find King Steven staring at him with a pinched look on his face. Danny glances down at his chest. His shirt is covered in sand and nearly translucent from the water. He brushes ineffectively at the mess and looks back up at Steven whose face is carefully blank now. 

"I'm gonna go..." Steven gestures vaguely towards Grace and Kono before running back into the water with his board.

What was that all about? Danny wonders. 

Grace manages to run the wave all the way in the third try. Danny's still having heart attacks, but he can admit that Kono and Steven are watching out for her better than he could out there. After about an hour in the water they finally come back to land. Grace is flagging and Steven has to go and actually rule the country. 

They walk back to the palace together, Grace chattering away happily between Steven and Danny. Danny glances up from Grace's retelling of her first surf wipe-out to find Steven regarding them both with soft eyes. He looks utterly besotted, which Danny can understand, Grace is the best. But Steven is also directing his gaze at him. The man blows hot and cold faster than anyone Danny's ever met. It's all very confusing. 

As they reach the palace doors Danny grabs Steven's elbow. "Any chance of you joining us for dinner tonight babe?" 

Steven turns to look at him. "Maybe," he rubs the back of his neck. "I've got a lot of stuff to do today but I'll try."

Danny smiles at him encouragingly. "Grace and I will look forward to it."

Steven shoots him a tight grin then vanishes inside the palace. 

"Come on Grace," Danny says, "Lets go get you cleaned up."

\---

The King doesn't make it to dinner. He sends Deb instead who rolls her eyes with a comment about 'death by duty' and then teaches Grace how to balance a spoon on her nose. 

Danny is not impressed by either. 

\---

Danny wakes to the feeling of someone pulling back the covers and crawling into his bed. It's the middle of the night and the room is a mass of shadows in the faint moonlight.

"Wha...?"

"Shhhh." 

It's Steven. 

He presses himself up against Danny's back, a long line of warm skin. His arms circle Danny from behind and pull him flush against his chest. He leans in and whispers in Danny's ear. "I'm sorry I missed dinner."

Danny moves to turn around and give his fiancé a piece of his mind but Steven finds the sensitive spot just behind his ear and starts kisses it gently. "You're upset, I know. Tell me to go and I'll go, but I couldn't wait any longer." He nuzzles the spot behind Danny's ear and starts kissing his way down his neck.

Danny wants to make a protest but all he can do is moan as Steve's mouth moves south. It's been so long since he's had anyone in his bed, and Steve's mouth is so hot it feels like he's being branded. At the same time one of Steven's hands is caressing his side, following the cut of his hip down and nudging the edge of his underwear. 

"Babe, no one in their right minds would kick you out of bed," Danny manages to pant out, reaching back with one hand to grip Steven's hair and keep him exactly where he is. 

"Don't care what anyone else would do, just you." Steven whispers, his voice low and rough and Danny wants to hear it that way always. 

"Not that I'm complaining, but you haven't really given any indication that this..." he gestures vaguely and moans, "...was on your mind..."

Steven's wandering hand continues its path downwards. "Have to control myself...was doing so well until today. Saw you standing there in that wet shirt, clinging to every part of you. Fuck. Had to go hide in the ocean so you wouldn't see how it affected me."

Steven's hand slips right down and grabs his aching cock and Danny arches like a drawn bow from how good it feels. Steven's other arm reaches across his shoulders, holding them flush together as he starts to stroke his hand up and down. 

"Want you like this all the time, want you in my bed where I can do whatever I want, keep you on the edge for hours. Want to make you lose it, forget everything but my name." His whispered words rise and fall with the rhythm of his hand and Danny does lose himself, everything else falling away except for that insistent rhythm pulling him towards the inevitable climax. His own hand spasms where it grips Steve's hair and it has to hurt, but the man continues his slow steady strokes. 

"Come on Danny, let yourself go..." He leans in and bites Danny's neck where it meets his shoulder. Danny arches back with a cry...

And wakes up.

Alone. 

He's hard as a rock and covered with sweat. Reaching down all it takes is a few firm tugs before he's coming like a freight train, biting his own fist to stifle his cries. 

Fuck.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny's not sure whether he should be relieved or resigned that the King doesn't join them at the beach the next morning. Instead he and Grace find Princess Mary lounging on one of of the chairs with a large pair of sunglasses and what looks suspiciously like a mai tai even though it's barely nine am. 

"Ah, your highnesses," Mary waves. "Come join me!" 

Danny walks over and slumps down in the chair next to her while Grace whispers a shy 'hello' then runs off to build a sandcastle with Kono and Meka. 

"Rough night?" Mary asks. She looks Danny up and down taking in his khakis, button down shirt and shoes. "You'll never get a tan at this rate, don't you own any beachwear?" She teases him. 

"Yes to both your questions." Danny answers, closing his eyes and leaning back against the solid support of the chair. "But I don't want to talk right now."

He can feel Mary staring at him. He opens his eyes and turns to see, she's looking at him contemplatively while taking a sip of her drink. "I'd thought you'd be more relaxed the day before your wedding." 

Danny bristles slightly, before remembering who he's talking to. If anyone has any insight into Steven's behavior it would be his sister.

"I'd be more relaxed if I'd actually been in the same room as Steven for more than an hour." He waves his hands around to emphasize his point. "He was the one to propose this marriage treaty, but since I arrived in this pineapple infested place he's been so busy I've barely seen him." 

Mary leans back in her chair. "And now you're hoping I have some insight for you." She states. "You want me to tell you it's all ok and this is just how my brother behaves and that deep down he's really desperately in love and just too shy to tell you?"

"Maybe?" Put that way it does sound a little pathetic. But Danny's never felt so unsure before. He's usually fairly competent at reading people, but Steven is damn near inscrutable. 

Mary shakes her head. " Well I hate to disappoint you, but I haven't seen my brother in almost twenty years, and King Steven is nothing like the Stevie that I remember. Before I saw him on the news that night in Oregon I thought he was dead." She flashes Danny a tight grin. "Did he tell you that I slapped him when he showed up in California to bring me home?" 

Danny chuckles, "No, he did not. I imagine it doesn't sit well with his macho man image."

Mary chuckles. "Slapped him right across the face in front of his entire entourage and called him an asshole for not taking me with him when he ran away."

"I wish I'd been there to see that." Danny replies. "I could use the laugh right now." 

"Yeah, well he deserved it. Letting me think my entire family had abandoned me." Mary takes a another slow sip of her drink and seems to be pondering her next words carefully.   
"This new Steve—King Steven—I'm not sure I know him at all. He's colder, harder than the boy I remember. It's like the military took my brother and built a wall around his emotions. Locked them off so they couldn't interfere with being a good little soldier. Every now and then I see flashes of how he used to be, but he's changed so much."

"What was he like back then?" Danny asks. The guy's so focused and driven it's almost impossible to imagine him as a child.

Mary smiles gently. "Before mom died he was such a goofball. We'd get up to so much trouble together. I'm sure you know what it's like growing up royal, nobody really understands the pressure. But whenever I got upset Steven was was always there for me." Her face hardens. "Then mom died and it was like our childhoods did too. Overnight Dad turned into this paranoid monster. He was terrified that whoever had killed mom was going to kill us as well so he decided to send us away 'for our own protection.' Although he didn't tell us that until we arrived at the airport. That was the last time I saw either of them." 

"I told Dad I hated him." She continues, "I refused to answer any of his letters, went on with my own life as best I could, and then suddenly it was too late." She sniffles and surreptitiously wipes away a tear. "So yeah, we're not the best family when it comes to dealing with emotions." 

Danny can't even imagine sending Grace away and never seeing her again. It would break him. If anything he feels like he understands King John even less than before. 

Mary tips her head back and finishes off her drink. "So yeah, no real insight for you other than my brother is slowly turning into my father." She shoots a dark look at where her own bodyguard is sitting several chairs away pretending not to be listening. 

"He does seem overly paranoid." Danny agrees. 

"Don't let him push you away." Mary tells him. She reaches over and grabs his hands tightly, knocking her empty glass from the chair as she does. "You're good for him, you and Grace. Since you arrived I've actually seen him smile."

"He just..." Danny huffs, frustrated, and pulls his hands away to wave them in the air. "He's perfectly polite, but it seems like everything else is more important than his fiancé..." 

Mary interrupts, "If I wanted to play amateur psychologist on my brother I'd say that he isn't used to having emotions anymore and they scare him. You're just gonna have to be patient with him, let him realize it's ok to feel again, and if he's still ignoring you I can always slap him again." She winks at him and then leans back, facing up into the sunshine. 

Danny lets himself smile back. "I might take you up on that."

The peace is shattered by the arrival of a colourful whirlwind. "Morning Kiddos!" Deb calls as she strides across the sand. Today's outfit is lime green with a garish pink towel draped around her neck, looking for even a few moments threatens to give Danny a migraine. Deb reclines into the chair on Danny's other side and tosses him the newspaper she'd been carrying. 

"You might want to take a look at the front page."

Danny unfolds it and his vision nearly whites out. It's a picture of Steven and Grace surfing from the other morning. It's very grainy, obviously taken with a telephoto lens and the caption reads 'Pint-sized Princess Steals King's Heart'. 

He turns to Deb. "WHAT?!" How dare they publish unauthorized pictures of his daughter. 

"Don't worry," Deb says breezily. "Stevie's dealing with it. He sent Kawika to go talk to them."

Mary's eyes widen.

"Who the hell is Kawika?" Danny demands. 

"You know how Steve is a Navy SEAL," Mary asks, "expert in multiple forms or hand to hand combat, able to kill a man in several creative ways armed with nothing more than a toothpick, one of the most highly trained and dangerous men in the entire military? Well Kawika is _his_ bodyguard."

Danny narrows his eyes. "And Kawika will tell them not to publish any more pictures of Grace?"

"Politely, of course." Deb agrees. "And if they don't listen, well then Kawika will stop being polite." 

Danny's still furious but Deb and Mary seem to think this Kawika will deal with the problem, and he has no reason to doubt them.

Grace chooses that moment to come running up. "Danno, come see my sandcastle!" She catches sight of the paper and grabs it from Danny's hands. She looks at it for a long moment. "Kono," she turns around to show her the paper. "Is my left foot too far forward?" 

Kono looks at the image critically. "It is. You need to keep it back about another half step." 

Grace stares at the photo and adjusts her feet in the sand. "Ok." Then she gives the paper back to Danny. "Will you come see my castle now?" 

"Of course Monkey." Danny agrees, ruffling her hair. "I'm sure it's the best castle ever."

\----

They're driven inside later that morning by one of Hawaii's frequent flash showers. Grace has gone to play with the other palace children and Danny is strolling the corridor past the throne room when he hears raised voices. It's Steven and Chin. He can't make out the words, but the voices are unmistakable. He's about to turn and go back the way he came when a phrase catches his attention.

Chin's voice is angry and tense. "You have to tell him you know." 

Then the King, "No I don't." Said with a tone of utter finality.

Danny tiptoes up to the doorway and peers around the edge. The King and his Chamberlain are standing across from each other over a wide desk. Steven's arms are crossed and his face is dark with anger. A bundle of pages are spread out between them, Chin gestures to them as he continues.

"Look, I agreed with you at the beginning, but the situation has changed. We've run out of time. If you go forward with it now he's going to figure it out and when he does..."

"I've made my decision." Steve snaps.

"Well lets just hope it doesn't turn out to be the wrong one." Chin fires back. 

"Are you questioning my judgement?" Steven's voice is icy. 

"No, your highness." Chin mutters, bowing slightly in apology. "I just think you're underestimating the danger." 

"Well that's my decision to make." Steven states. "Now, if there's nothing else?" 

Chin bows again, deeper this time, then he turns and Danny just manages to duck behind the door before he's spotted. Chin strides from the room muttering under his breath too low for Danny to make out. He watches Chin stride away down the hallway, counts to ten slowly and then enters the room he just vacated. 

"What's going on here babe? Chin just blew by me like you'd had an argument. Did you veto his seating arrangement for the wedding?"

Steven looks up at him startled, before surreptitiously sweeping all the scattered pages on the desk into a pile and placing another folder on top of them.

"Just some disagreements about a trade contract, it's nothing."

"That didn't look like nothing."

"Well it's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish reviewing these contracts..." He looks pointedly at Danny. 

Brushed off again. Danny feels his hackles rise. He's not an idiot, he can tell there's more going on here. But then he remembers Mary's words, and wrestles his temper back under control.

"Look, I didn't come to start an argument, I just wanted to thank you," he says. "Deb told me what you did about that paparazzi. I appreciate you looking out for Grace like that."

Steve ducks his head and Danny can swear he sees a flush starting up from his collar. "It was nothing, really, they should know better than to publish invasive photos like that." Steve starts shuffling the papers on his desk as he continues. "That photographer's been banned from the press pool for life and the paper that published it promised to run an apology in tomorrow's edition."

"Well thank you, it means a lot to me." Danny tells him. "Now, I'll let you get back to your contracts. Will Grace and I see you at dinner?"

"Yeah," Steve's already picking up papers, he glances up and spares Danny another small smile. "I'll see you later."

\---

Steven doesn't make it to dinner. Instead both Deb and Mary join them and spend the evening regaling Danny and Grace with stories of the trouble she and Steven used to get up to when they were children in the palace. Grace follows every word with rapt attention. Danny spends the entire evening picking at his meal and pretending to pay attention to the conversation. He doesn't know why he's even trying anymore. 

\---

It's late. The sun has long since set but Danny is finding sleep elusive. Tomorrow's the wedding. He wouldn't go so far as to say he's nervous, but his brain won't shut off and let him rest. Which is why he finds himself walking through the palace gardens trailed by a yawning Meka long after everyone else is asleep. Everything is ready for tomorrow, everything but Danny. 

As he approaches the chairs at the edge of the beach he sees he's not the only one having trouble sleeping. There's a shadowy figure sitting on one of the chairs, staring out towards the ocean. He's not surprised to see that it's Steven. He waves Meka to stay at a distance as he approaches his fiancé. 

"Going for a night swim?" Danny asks as he slumps into an adjacent chair. 

Steven must have heard him coming since he doesn't even glance over at Danny's query. He continues to stare out at the ocean as he answers, "Nah, don't want to bother the sharks this late."

There's a few minutes of slightly awkward silence. Surprisingly Steven's the one to break it. "Nervous about tomorrow?" he asks softly. 

Danny looks sideways at him, silhouetted in the moonlight, but his face is as inscrutable as ever. 

"Nope," he replies with more conviction than he feels. "I've done this before, if anyone should be nervous it's you."

"I am." Steven responds quietly. 

Danny chuckles. "You... Mr. Navy Seal, scared?" 

Steven bristles. "Like you said, you've done this before. I haven't."

"I didn't mean to impugn your bravery babe. I just thought they'd surgically removed your fear gland when you joined up."

Steve shakes his head, staring down at his clasped hands. "You've got to be able to feel to do that job. If you don't care then what's the point?"

He turns and stares directly at Danny with a strangely intense expression on his face. "Your first marriage was a love match, right?" 

Danny nods, puzzles by the abrupt change in subject..

"So you've never married for duty." Steve pauses. He seems to be searching for just the right words. "Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have a marriage where you didn't love your partner?"

Danny's heart sinks, but he gives the question the consideration it deserves. "I guess I always imagined if I had an arranged marriage that I'd grow to love my partner in time. I never really thought about it much. I was lucky enough that I wasn't in direct line to the throne, so I had a little more freedom in my choices that you or my sister did."

Steven nods sadly. "That's true. Even when I ran away I always knew I couldn't get too attached to anyone. My life wasn't my own. I knew one day I'd have to come home and take the throne." He clenches his hands in his lap. "I'm not sure why I'm complaining to you about this... I know I've had more freedom that you ever did."

Danny shrugs his shoulders, "I've never felt trapped by my life. I think it's hard to miss something you've never had." He takes a moment to consider his next words. "You don't have to do this you know. There's several people who could take over if you wanted to pack it in and go back to your previous life."

Steve lets out a hollow bark of laughter. "Yeah I don't think they'd let me go back to the special forces now everyone knows who I am. That boat sailed the night my father died. Besides, can you see Mary as Queen?"

Danny snorts. "She'd hate it, so much. I don't think she has a responsible bone in her body. Don't get me wrong, that's why I like her, but her and ruling would not sit well together." He pauses, then continues more softly, "plus I agreed to this treaty when it involved marrying you, I'm not sure I'd be willing to make the trade." He leans back in the chair and crosses his hands behind his head looking up at the stars.

The silence stretches again, but it's more comfortable this time. This is nice, they haven't managed a real conversation like this since he'd arrived. Perhaps things are looking up. Then a thought crosses Danny's mind. He avoids looking at Steven as he casually asks, "why did you propose the treaty anyway?" 

He hears Steven shift position and worries he's going to get up and leave. But the King stays seated and actually seems to be considering Danny's question. 

"You were... kind." Steven eventually admits. "Kono gave me your message that night. A lot of people offered condolences and support, but yours was the only offer I believed." He pauses and shifts again. "The treaty just seemed like the right idea at the time."

"And now?" Danny asks turning to face him again. 

Unfortunately Steven's wearing his inscrutable face, although he's staring at Danny like he's trying to solve a particularly complicated puzzle. "You don't have to do this either you know..." he says carefully, like he's afraid of the reaction his words will have. 

Danny feels the familiar irritation starting but he tries not to show any trace of it in his voice. "Yeah, well, everything's all organized for tomorrow, seems rude to cancel it all now," he states casually. "Besides Grace would never forgive me for depriving her of the opportunity to wear the dress she's picked out."

Steve chuckles quietly. "Well we wouldn't want to disappoint Grace." Then he shifts in his chair and looks searchingly into Danny's face. This close Danny can see the hidden fear lurking deep within his eyes. "Seriously Daniel, if you don't want to go through with this just say the word. I'll find a way to explain it to the press so that I take the blame."

Danny can't stem his rising anger any longer, and his voice rises in irritation. "I'm not the one looking like I'm trying to get out of this _babe_. I agreed to this marriage and I plan to see it through. And I'm honestly a little insulted that you don't seem to believe me."

Steven flinches away but instead of yelling in return he turns back to stare at the sea. "I just don't want you to feel like you made a mistake." He says quietly.

"You know," Danny hisses, "you keep insulting me and selling yourself short at the same time and I just might." He stands, annoyed beyond measure. "Have a good evening your highness, I'll see you tomorrow. If you decide to show up." Then he turns and storms off back towards the palace, Meka trailing along behind pretending that he hadn't been listening to every word.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by  
> The King to invite  
> All Readers of This Story  
> to the Marriage of  
> His Royal Highness King Steven of Hawaii  
> with  
> His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Jersey  
> at Ali'iolani Palace  
> on Friday, September 20, 2010 at 3 p.m. 

The morning of the wedding dawns bright and cheerful. Danny sits on the lanai and stares out at the glorious sunrise and thinks it would have been more appropriate to be pouring rain. He's not sure if he's ready to go through with this farce of a union. Far from reassuring him, the conversation with his fiancé last night had brought up even more doubts.

Danny's a realist, he knows that royal marriages don't start with love at first sight. He'd felt a spark when he first met Steven and he'd come here willing to put in the work hoping that love would come later. Steve on the other hand isn't even pretending to play the besotted fiancé. If anything he's treated the forthcoming wedding as merely another thing to do on the royal to do list; negotiate treaty, get married, lunch...

Danny glances down at the phone in his hand. The screen is full of congratulatory messages from his family; Matty, Bridget, his folks, Stella, even Eric. Could he really back out, risk disappointing everyone he knows and loves? The uproar from the media would be epic, but he could weather it. He's had lots of practice by now.

Maybe he could just run away and take Grace somewhere nobody knows them. Steven had hidden in plain sight for years, it couldn't be that hard. He flicks the phone off and puts it face down on the table. He sighs deeply, leaning back and rubbing his hands over his eyes.

At cautious knocking on the doorframe jolts him from his dark thoughts.

He swivels around to see Meka standing in the doorway. He's holding out a thick piece of folded paper. "Message for you from his highness."

Danny ponders it for a long moment before beckoning Meka over and taking the paper from him. He unfolds it slowly and starts to read:

_Daniel,_  
_I can only apologize for my words to you last night. It was unfair of me to put my doubts on you. Your certainty about this marriage makes my fears seem foolish and I shall endeavour to live up to your faith in me._  
_If you are still willing, I will be waiting._  
_Yours, Steven_

Danny lets out a deep breath. "Did he tell you to wait for a reply?" he asks Meka, who tries to pretend he wasn't shamelessly reading over his shoulder.

"No brah. He just said to deliver the note, and this." Meka holds up what looks like a rope made of leaves with tiny white flowers woven through it.

"And what am I supposed to do with that? Tie someone up?"

Meka laughs, "no, you wear it around your neck for the wedding. It's meant to bring luck."

Danny gives the greenery a suspicious look. "And you wore one of these at your wedding? Or is this something you inflict on ignorant mainlanders?"

"When I married Amy I could barely hold my head up I was wearing so many leis." Meka shakes his head. "Everyone here wears them for special occasions. Although if you don't like the maile leaves I could try find you a flower one." He grins cheekily.

Danny snatches the lei from his hands. "No thank you. Leaves I can manage, flowers are taking it a step too far."

"Danno!" Grace calls from inside, "Are you ready?"

He shakes himself and turns to face his daughter as she comes through the door. "Am I ready?" He forces a smile onto his face. "Is there something happening today?"

"Of course there is! You're getting married!" She's visibly glowing with excitement.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." Danny reaches out as she throws herself into his arms. "How come you aren't ready?"

"Kono said she'd help me with my dress but she's not here yet."

Grace leans in and wraps her arms around Danny's neck. "I'm so happy you're marrying King Steve, he's really nice, and he said he'd have more time to teach me to surf after the wedding."

And right there, that settles it. If Grace loves it here then Danny will go through with this marriage, despite his misgivings. He'd do anything for his baby girl. He tucks Steven's note into his pocket, and drapes the lei around his neck. "Well then, we'd better go get ready so we're not late."

\---

The throne room is full to bursting with excited guests and more are crowded into every public area around the city since the entire kingdom has been given the day off to join in the celebrations. If he listens Danny can faintly hear the cheering drifting in from outside. He stands at the end of the long aisle and breathes deeply. He can do this. He runs his hands down the front of his suit to smooth it and for adjusts the lei around his neck.

Ahead of him Grace is solemnly walking down the aisle, scattering tiny white flowers. She's wearing a frilly white dress and Danny isn't the only one who thinks she's absolutely adorable if the number of cooing whispers are anything to go by. She reaches halfway and turns to look back at him. Her smile is blinding and Danny lets it draw him forward.

He takes a slow measured step onto the carpet leading to the dais at the far end. Steven is standing there, resplendent in his naval dress whites, like a prince from one of Grace's fairy tale books. He's smiling down the aisle as Grace continues on her way towards him. She reaches the end of the aisle and the music changes.

Everyone turns.

Danny feels the weight of a thousand eyes all staring at him. He seeks out Meka standing near the dais who gives him a wide grin and a thumbs up. Then his eyes come to rest on Steven. Danny starts walking down the aisle one measured step after another, eyes fixed ahead of him, ignoring everyone to either side. Steven is holding his gaze. He looks happy and calm, but there's something restrained underneath. As though he's holding himself together by sheer force of will.

It seems like no time at all and Danny is standing next to Steven on the dais. The king reaches out and grasps Danny's hands, "I told you I'd be here." He grins and his whole face transforms. For a moment Danny sees him as Mary described him; just a goofy kid with a huge heart. He can't help but smile back, then as one they turn to face the priest. He spreads his hands wide and begins the ceremony.

There's a roaring in Danny's ears so loud that he can't hear a single word, but he knows his cues, knows when to say his lines, and when to turn to look at Steven. Blue eyes meet Hazel and Danny hears himself say "I do." Then Steve slips a ring on his finger and it's all over.

Steven leans forward and places a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. He's married.

He looks at his new husband. Steven's smile has shifted into something softer and warmer. He grasps Danny's hands tightly in his own and Danny can feel the warmth of his touch radiating up from his hands across his entire body. He gives an answering squeeze of his own and then they turn to face the cheers of the crowd.

\---

The reception afterwards takes place in the Grand Ballroom in the east wing. The room is massive, easily fitting the three hundred invited guests. Of course Danny is seated at the centre of the head table right next to Steve. He splits his attention between his new husband to his left and Grace to his right and tries to be polite to the endless stream of guests who come by to offer their congratulations.

After the dinner, and speeches, and being toasted more times than he can count Grace is starting to tire. She's been a trooper all day but the excitement is finally catching up to her.

Danny leans in to whisper quietly to Steve. "Babe, I think I gotta duck out quickly and put Gracie to bed."

Steve looks over at where Grace is trying valiantly not to fall asleep in her dessert and his eyes soften. "Yeah, ok. Do you need help?"

"Nah, I got this. I could do with a few minutes of peace and quiet anyway. But I'll meet you in your rooms afterwards?"

Steve freezes, panic flashing across his features. Did he forget what they're all here celebrating? "Right," he exhales. "My rooms, of course."

Danny stares at him for a moment longer, trying to parse his reaction. But the perfectly polite blank mask is back and he can't get a read on him anymore. So he stands, gathers Grace into his arms, makes his excuses to the rest of the royal family and sneaks out through a side door.

Grace is dead weight in his arms as he makes his way back to their rooms, Kono trailing behind them. He manages to rouse her enough to change into her pyjamas and brush her teeth before helping her climb into bed.

"Goodnight Danno," she mumbles. "...love you."

He leans over and kisses her forehead. "Goodnight monkey. Danno loves you too."

He turns off the light and pulls the door nearly closed. Kono is sprawled on a couch in the sitting room busily pulling the pins out of her elaborate hairdo.

"You go on, I'll stay here tonight." She winks at him. "Don't hurry back in the morning, I sure wouldn't."

Danny shakes his head in mock despair. "You have a filthy mind young lady."

"Maybe, but you should get going." She stands and puts her hands on his shoulders, pushing him towards the door. "Better not keep the King waiting..."

"Oh haha." Danny responds, but he lets her push him through the doorway and pull it shut behind him. Leaving him alone in the hallway.

He takes a deep breath and sets his feet in the direction of Steven's—and now his—rooms.

\---

Danny lets himself into the royal chambers and looks around curiously. King Steven's suite makes his and Grace's accommodations look positively modest by comparison. The main room looks out onto the beach the same as theirs, but the the bedroom (once Danny finally locates it behind one of the many doors) looks out over the mountains. The sun has long set, but the full moon just serves to outline their hulking presence against the night skyline. When Danny looks closer the floor to ceiling windows can be rolled out of the way to open up the entire room to the lanai outside.

The giant four-poster bed silently mocks him from the other side of the room. He tries to give the offending piece of furniture an intimidating glare but it continues to sit there. He turns his back to it instead and wanders around the rest of the bedroom picking up various items to examine as he goes. There's a few framed photos of the royal family from Steven's childhood. A few more recent pictures of him and Mary but overall the room is fairly bare, as though it's occupant was just passing through and didn't intend to stay.

Danny sits down on the edge of the bed. He suddenly feel unbearably sad for his new husband. Danny might hate the lack of privacy that's part and parcel of being royal but at least he'd had his whole life to come to terms with it. Steven has gone from being a completely unknown sailor to the most gossiped about ruler in all the allied kingdoms. He can't even imagine how difficult that must be. Especially when it's obvious Steven is a very private person.

From his new vantage point a flash of red catches his eye. Tucked under one of the dressers is a red tool box, looking very out of place amidst the elegant furniture. Danny knows he shouldn't, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he kneels down to pull it out from its hiding place. He lifts the lid and pulls out some of the objects from inside but he can't make head nor tail of them. There's a series of postcards with little men waving flags written on the back, a medal, a map of Oregon, a tape recorder, and a series of photos of a burnt and blackened car. Wait a minute.. what does that remind him of...

He drops the photos in shock and staggers to his feet. Those are photos of Queen Doris' car after the assassination. Why on earth would Steven keep those? He flips the toolbox shut with his foot and kicks it back under the dresser. He shudders and tries to put the grisly images from his mind. He understands Steven's need to remember his mother but his choice of momento leave a lot to be desired.

He makes another through perusal of the room again, but nothing else catches his attention. Turning back to his original task Danny shrugs out of his suit jacket and lays it carefully over the back of one of the chairs. He then slowly loosens his tie and lays it aside as well. As he smooths the creases from it he notices his hands are shaking. He clenches them tightly. For god's sake, he's not some blushing virgin, he's a grown man with a child, this nervousness is unbecoming.

Maybe if he just lies back on the bed for a moment, it's been a long day and a few moments peace and quiet sounds perfect...

...he's just gonna rest his eyes for a moment...

The bang of the door being flung open jolts Danny from his doze. He scrambles off the bed and rushes to the outer room. Steven is standing, or rather leaning, against the wall looking around at the room with puzzlement. It might only be his imagination but Danny thinks he can smell the alcohol from where he's standing.

"Danno!" A wide grin splits Steven's face. "I didn't mean to wake you..." His gaze makes a slow trip up and down Danny's body, and Danny fights the urge to cross his arms across his chest. Steven's gaze shifts from delighted to hungry, but an instant later it's as though he remembers something and the perfectly blank mask replaces it. Danny's hates that face so much.

"What's the matter with you, huh? I leave you alone for an hour and this is what happens?"

"Sorry Danno." Steven tries to look suitably contrite. "There were a lot of toasts." He takes a step forward, overbalances and grabs onto the back for a nearby chair for support. He glares at his feet as though they've personally offended him. "I may have had a bit too much to drink." He confesses.

Danny sighs and moves towards his erstwhile husband. He lifts Steven's arm from the chair and places it around his own shoulders. "Come on then, let's at least get you more comfortable."

He maneuvers Steven through to the bedroom with some difficulty (Where did all these extra hands come from? The guy is like an octopus.) and pushes him, none-too-gently, onto the bed.

"Seriously though, what were you thinking? This is our wedding night. I know neither one of us is ready for that level of intimacy yet, but the least you could do is stay sober." A look of hurt flashes across Steven's face and he pulls back from Danny.

"You don't understand..." he stumblingly protests.

"You're damn right I don't understand, because you don't talk to me." Danny retorts. "I got your note, I thought it meant you were ready to give this marriage a real try." The hurt puppy look makes an appearance on Steve's face and Danny mentally kicks himself. "Come on, let's get your jacket off." It takes some maneuvering because Steven is practically dead weight at this point, but eventually Danny divests him of his jacket, shirt and shoes. He contemplates removing his pants as well but the already revealed skin of his chest is proving a temptation and Danny reckons he's safer if the pants stay on.

"Thanks Danno..." Steve slurs, halfway asleep already.

Danny sighs, "What did I tell you about calling me Danno? I distinctly remember telling you not to do it. That's mine and Gracie's thing." He goes to the bathroom to get a glass of water and some Advil. Steven's head with thank him for it in the morning.

Returning to the bedroom he finds Steven passed out, spread-eagled in the middle of the bed.

"Seriously?"

He puts the glass of water down on the nightstand with rather more force than necessary and glares at his new husband. He tries to maneuver Steven's limbs so there's room for two in the bed but is eventually forced to give it up as a lost cause. The King is dead weight, and also dead to the world.

Danny runs his hands through his hair in frustration and then grabs a blanket and tries to make himself comfortable on the couch. Out of all the ways he'd pictured this evening going this was not one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's so late, real life has been kicking my ass this week.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny wakes to an early morning sunbeam stabbing him in his eyes and a crick in his neck. It takes him several moments to remember where he is (on the couch) and what happened last night (nothing). He groans and stretches, feeling his back pop in protest. For all their elegance the couches in Steven's room are not built for comfort.

Sitting up he looks down at his rumpled shirt and sighs. He tugs at the hem to try and smooth out the worst of the wrinkles but quickly gives it up as a lost cause. The spectacular sunrise visible through the windows tells him it's early still but the room is suspiciously silent. He hauls himself to his feet and makes his way across the room to the bedchamber.

It's empty.

The sheets are rumpled and pillows are strewn everywhere, but Steven is gone. Danny leans down and feels the bed. It's cold.

He sits heavily on the edge of the bed and breathes deeply. He grabs one of the discarded pillows and clenches his fists in the fabric. So this is it, he's married, he has a husband. And said husband apparently couldn't wait to escape his presence this morning.

What the hell had he been thinking? One apologetic note frankly doesn't excuse the King's abominable behavior since he'd arrived. All those little red flags seem a lot more glaring now in the cold light of day than they did last night. He thought he'd seen a glimmer that there was a human being under all that repression and formality. But apparently not. Well, it's too late now, he's married and he'll just have to deal with it.

He tosses the pillow angrily across the room and it bounces off a dresser before landing on the floor right next to where the red tool box should be. Except it's gone. The King must have noticed that Danny had moved it. Good, he doesn't want those pictures in their bedroom.

As he sits there contemplating the disaster his life has become there's a tentative knock on the outer door.

"Come in," he calls out, and after a moment Jerry pokes his head into the bedroom.

"Oh, you're awake." He looks puzzled at discovering Danny awake so early. "The King told me to ask if you wanted breakfast here or with your daughter."

"I'll take breakfast with my daughter, thank you." Danny heaves himself to his feet and makes his way towards the door. "And can you ask Kamekona for the strong coffee? I want to be able to stand my spoon up in it."

"Long night," Jerry asks with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Danny responds, carefully keeping the bitterness out of his voice. He brushes by Jerry and pats the bemused man on the shoulder. "Thanks."

He holds his head high as he walks away. 

\---

Any hope Danny had that his relationship might gain a fresh start after the wedding are quickly dashed. Their first day as a married couple Steven goes up to the north shore to discuss land management issues and fishing quotas and doesn't return to the palace again until well after midnight, sneaking in after Danny's fallen asleep and sneaking out again before he wakes in the morning.

After that, Danny goes back to sleeping in his own rooms. He can take a hint when it's as pointed as the one Steven is giving. Meka and Kono had sent each other uneasy glances when he asked them to arrange for his things to be removed from the King's rooms but neither of them had tried to dissuade him.

Danny won't go back unless Steve asks, and the chances of that happening seem about as likely as snow in Hawaii. Grace hasn't caught on that anything is wrong yet, but the palace staff are beginning to talk. Danny can tell by the sudden silence that falls whenever he enters a room, and the furious whispering that starts up again after he leaves. Kono keeps giving him worried looks whenever she thinks he's not looking, Meka's normally sunny disposition has turned grim, and even Kamekona has stopped trying to include pineapple in every meal in deference to Danny's haole ways.

Danny refuses to mope around the palace like a jilted lover. Instead, he throws himself into his duties. At first spending time with Max is a trying affair. Danny's natural sarcasm and Max's dry pedantry are not a match made in heaven. It isn't until Danny realizes that most of Max's incredibly dry asides are actually quite cutting jokes that they start to find some common ground. Max is thrilled to have a willing student and Danny is grateful to find someone else willing to poke fun of overly ridiculous royal traditions.

Danny ends up picking the Police Benevolent Fund as his first royal patronage. He'd wanted to be a cop when he was younger, before he understood that the path of his life was already set out before him, and he'd been patron of a similar organization back in Jersey. The Fund in turn is thrilled with the news, and Danny finally feels like he's got a purpose in Hawaii.

A few days later they're returning from meeting with the Director of the fund. Danny's feeling particularly cheerful. An afternoon away from the palace and his absent husband was just what he needed, but Max is ruining his good mood by being unusually silent in the seat beside him. He's looking out the window, brow furrowed and hands clenched tightly on his lap.

"You alright there buddy?" Danny asks.

Max twitches, coming back from wherever his mind had been roaming. "I am fine your highness," he replies, not looking at Danny. "I have merely been pondering a moral conundrum."

"Well if you're looking for advice..." Danny trails off.

Max shakes his head quickly, darting a brief glance at Danny. "No thank you your highness, I fear this is a matter I must solve for myself."

Danny catches Meka's gaze in the rear view mirror and raises his eyebrows in a silent question. Meka simply shrugs and returns his focus to the road. 

A few minutes later they turn onto the palace drive and pull up in front of the palace. Danny pointedly ignores the second car of additional body guards that pulls to a stop behind them. His husband may be absent, but his paranoia isn't.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Danny asks as he exits the car.

Max nods and Danny turns to leave.

"Wait..." Max calls out. He's standing beside the car twisting his hands together looking like he'd rather be anywhere than where he is. "Your Highness should consider attending open court tomorrow," he says in a rush. "I think you might find it to be an instructive experience."

Danny looks back in puzzlement. "Really? Is court in Hawaii so different from the mainland?"

"As I said, you may find the experience enlightening." Max says, then bows. "Your highness." Then he hurries past Danny and disappears into the palace. 

"What was that all about?" Danny asks Meka. 

"No idea, brah. No idea."

\---

The tradition of Open Court dates back to the dawn of the Hawaiian islands. Once a month the palace is thrown open to all the kingdom's citizens to lay their grievances before the King and receive his judgement. It's always a long day with people coming from all over the islands to have their problems heard. It usually starts at sunrise and continues until well after sunset.

Danny hadn't bothered to inform the King that he would be in attendance. Something about Max's unease had transferred to him and he thought it would be better to make a low-key appearance. Which is how he and Meka find themselves at the very back of the room half hidden behind a pillar. 

Danny is slowly dying of boredom. He'd hoped to get a sense of who his husband was as a ruler, instead he's listening to a dispute over a tree, for the fifth time. Who knew that so many people nearly come to blows over shrubbery?

The current plaintiff is alleging his neighbour poisoned his avocado tree because it was casting shade onto his lanai. It seems a pretty open and shut case to Danny, the defendant is definitely shady, but the King is giving it his full attention as though it were a life or death matter.

Danny allows his gaze to drift over the rest of the group surrounding the King at the front of the throne room. Jenna Kaye is there, and Chin, studiously recording every detail of the claim. Jerry is standing near the back, trying to look suitably serious, and there's a woman Danny hasn't seen before.  

"Who's that?" Danny asks Meka, gesturing at the elegant looking lady standing on the dais, just behind Steven. She has long dark hair, piercing eyes, and holds herself rigidly erect. Something about her suggests bodyguard, but Danny's met all the royal staff by now and he doesn't remember her at all. 

Meka looks uncomfortable, "That's Catherine Rollins." His eyes dart around the room, refusing to look at Danny. "She served with the King during his time in the navy. When he took up the throne he asked her to take a job as his personal assistant. It took her some time to resign her commission, but she just took up her position here the day after the wedding."

Suddenly a lot of pieces fall into place and Danny is suddenly, furiously angry. His hands clench at his sides and the noise of court fades into a dull background roar. Of course Steven had never been in love with him. Of course the wedding was just a farce. The King already had a lover, he just couldn't marry her. Royals don't get to marry commoners, not unless they're willing to abdicate. 

Up at the dais Chin leans in to whisper something in Steven's ear. He looks contemplative for a moment, then turns to look at Catherine. She raises an eyebrow and nods. Steven smiles at her, open and easy like he's never smiled at Danny, and turns to deliver his judgement.

It all makes sense now, Steve's distance, his unpredictability, his comments about marrying for duty. How had Danny been so blind. He takes a deep breath, then another, and tries to get his blood pressure back to a level that won't give him a heart attack here in the throne room. 

When he reckons he can talk again without growling he turns to Meka. "I need to step outside for a moment. Don't follow me."

Meka looks like he's going to protest, but must see something in Danny's face because he quickly gives in. "Alright brah, but hurry back ok?" 

Danny barely notices where he's going as he storms away from the throne room. All he knows is that he needs to get away. The corridors he strides down become narrower and less frequented, he's in the bowels of the palace now. His rage has abated somewhat, and he's thinking slightly more clearly. 

He's not a fool. He would have done anything to keep Grace, and Steven knew and took shameless advantage of that fact. But what he can't stand is being lied to, especially when he thought there might be the chance of something more. He tries to tell himself he's not jealous, that he's better off without Steven, but even he's not buying it. He's not in love, but he could have been. Seeing how sweet Steven was with Grace had pretty much sealed the deal, but he can't accept being the third wheel in his own marriage. 

As he's pondering what to do with this new information a side door opens and into the hallway steps the gardener he saw that first morning. He carries himself with more authority than Danny would have expected of a servant, and he looks briefly surprised to see Danny pacing there, but quickly schools his expression and bows deeply.

"Your highness, can I assist you with something." 

"No, I'm fine." He pauses, looks around himself. "Actually, could you point me in the direction of the main hall? I might have gotten a little turned around."

An expression that looks an awful lot like a smirk passes across the man's face, and he points down the hallway to Danny's right. "Down that way, then second left, and first right." He bows again but not as deeply this time.

"Thanks," Danny mutters. There's something unnerving about his companion, and he doesn't like the idea of turning his back on him. 

"Daniel! You down here brah?" He hears Meka calling from back the way he came. A moment later he appears around the corner of the hallway. The look of worry on his face is quickly replaced by his normal friendly grin. 

"I'm here, just got a little turned around." Danny reassures him. "My friend here was just directing me back..." he turns to indicate the servant, but he's gone. 

Strange. 

"Come on your highness," Meka says. "You're missing out on another thrilling neighbour dispute. This one involves a papaya tree." 

"Actually," Danny responds, distractedly, looking down the empty hallway. "I have something else I have to do first."

\---

Danny's lying in wait for the King outside the rear entrance to the throne room. Court has just broken up for lunch and the rest of the staff had already left, Steven is the last to make his exit. He strides from the room, and pulls up short when he sees who's waiting for him.

"Daniel." He says, surprised.

"Don't you Daniel me." Danny snaps. "You and I need to talk."

Steven's eyes dart to the side "I'm very busy today, could it wait until tomorrow?"

"What? You want me to make an appointment with your PA?" Danny growls. "See that's kinda the point of my problem."

"What's wrong with Catherine?" Steve looks honestly puzzled.

"What's wrong with Catherine?" Danny parrots. "Really? You have to ask that? What could possibly be wrong with you hiring your friend, a beautiful woman, to be your personal assistant the day after our wedding? Certainly your  _ husband _ couldn't have a problem with that."

Steven looks shocked, and the blood drains from his face. 

"Danny, it's not what you think..."

"Then what is it?" Danny crosses his arms and stands directly in Steven's path. 

"I had a job opening, and she was an old friend looking for a job. I was doing her a favour." It sounds convincing, except for the part where he can't look Danny in the eyes as he says it.    
  
"Really? Cause Meka says you  _ asked _ her to resign her commission and take the job." Danny cocks an eyebrow. "Feel like altering your story?"

"You're making an issue out of nothing..." Steven starts. 

"Nothing? Really? Cause you haven't been in my bed since the wedding. Should I ask Catherine if you've been in hers?" Danny's voice is rising and Steven looking even more panicked. 

"Daniel, keep your voice down..."   
  
"Why?" Danny's practically yelling now. "So you can keep ignoring me and hope I won't make a scene?" He's practically shaking with anger now. "I came into this determined to make it work, shame you didn't." 

Steven reaches out towards him, "That's not what this is about..."

"Oh, well I'm waiting for you to explain it to me." Danny crosses his arms, staring expectantly at Steve. 

"It's just... you wouldn't understand." 

"What do you think I wouldn't understand? I understand being cheated on just fine, I've got a lot of experience there." Danny turns his back on his husband and starts walking away. "You know what, don't bother trying to explain. I don't want to hear it." 

He hears a plaintive 'Daniel..." behind him, but refuses to turn around. 

By the time Meka manages to catch up to him Danny has made it all the way back to his rooms and thrown himself down on his favourite chair on the lanai. 

Meka takes one look at his face and decides discretion is the better part of valour. "I'll have supper sent up here tonight." he says.

"Good." Is Danny's only response.

\---

There must have been a servant lurking just out of sight listening to their argument since the next day all the papers carry the headline "Royal Marriage on the Rocks Already?"

Danny variously curses his husband, nosy servants, vulture tabloid reporters, and every other person he can think of. He's ignoring the increasingly worried texts Stella's been sending him all morning while trying to figure out where he and Grace can run away that they won't be recognized. 

Perhaps Svalbard? That might be far enough to escape everyone he knows. Although maybe there's nowhere on earth that's far enough away for him to escape this pain.

A ping announces another text. He sighs and looks down. 

_ If you don't text me back soon and prove you're still alive Dad's threatened to declare war on Hawaii. _

Danny unlocks his phone and laboriously types out a response. 

_ Still alive. Not sure how long husband will be. _

He pauses a moment and then sends a follow up text. 

_ Is there something wrong with me? Why does this keep happening? _

Stella's response is instant. 

_ You just have the worst luck known to man. I'm so sorry danny. _

A short pause and then another message:  _ What are you going to do? _

Danny sighs heavily. What is he going to do? 


	8. Chapter 8

The next week is incredibly awkward for everyone. Danny and Steve are very obviously  _ not talking _ to each other, and the palace staff are tiptoeing around as though they're living in a minefield. Even Grace has picked up on the tension and has stopped asking to go surfing in the mornings and instead has been spending her time in the garden with the other palace children. 

From what Meka has let slip the King is even more testy and demanding than usual. He's driving the rest of the staff to distraction and even the normally unflappable Chin has been grinding his teeth. But the King hasn't sent Catherine away so Danny refuses to attend any function that would put him and his husband in the same room.    

The newspapers both on Hawaii and the mainland have been having a field day. Meka had reported that the little vein in Steven's forehead had started throbbing as soon as the first tabloids had hit his desk. To say the stories have been unflattering would be a gross understatement. Most of the writers have sided with Danny as the jilted spouse and heaped scorn upon the King for his behavior. One paper even went so far as to call for his abdication stating that Mary couldn't possibly be a worse ruler. Danny had laughed when he read that, a mirthless laugh to be sure, but there was a certain black humor to the situation. 

Both Deb and Mary had come by to try and broker a reconciliation. Danny had accepted their condolences and then gently but firmly sent them on their way.

It's only been a few days but Danny can't make up his mind about what to do. He's just uprooted his whole life and the thought of running back to Jersey with his tail between his legs does not appeal to him. He'd never be able to leave the palace again, and Rachel would definitely have enough ammo for a new custody battle for Grace. 

As it is he has a few supporters here in Hawaii. Meka is definitely not impressed with the King's behavior and Kono had offered to drown him the next time they went surfing, even Max had shown sympathy by being more patient and forgiving than usual. 

He's been pacing his bedroom since breakfast but movement hasn't given him any additional clarity, it's merely keeping him from punching a hole through the expensive wallpaper.  

A muffled thump and the sound of small running feet makes him pause. A moment later Grace comes rushing in with Kono right at her heels. She runs right up to Danny and hugs him tightly around the waist. 

"Hey Monkey," he pries her little arms from around him and kneels down to hug her properly. "How were your lessons?" 

"Ok I guess." Her eyes are downcast and she won't look at him. 

Danny looks questioningly at Kono who merely shrugs her shoulders. 

"Danno, are we going to have to leave here?" 

"What? Who told you that?" 

"I heard some people talking. They said you and Steve don't like each other anymore and we'd have to leave and go back to Jersey." 

"Do you want to go back to Jersey?" He asks gently.

"I miss grandma and Aunt Stella but I really like it here. I get to learn to surf and I get to go to school with Billy and Will and Sarah and you were smiling for the first time since mom left." She reaches up and Danny hoists her onto his hip. She leans forward and whispers in his ear. 

"Can you and Steven just apologize and make up?"

"Oh sweetie, sometimes grown-up problems can't be solved that easily. This is a big thing, Steven lied about something very important and I don't know if an apology will fix it." 

She looks heartbroken. "Do I have to stop talking to Steve?" 

"I wouldn't ask you to do that monkey. I know he cares about you."

She looks conflicted, "but he hurt you." 

"He did, but that's not your problem. 

He looks out the windows, the sun is shining and it's another beautiful day outside. 

"Why don't we go outside? Kono, can you stay here, give us some father-daughter time."

"She looks conflicted, "I'm not meant to leave you both unattended." 

"We'll just be in the garden. I promise not to run away while your back is turned."

Kono bites her lip, but Grace turns the puppy dog eyes on her and she's helpless to resist. "I guess it's alright, but don't stay out there too long."

They make their way down to the private beach, off to the side today in the shadow of one of the wings of the palace. The few people enjoying an afternoon outside migrate to the other side of the garden as if by some unseen signal leaving Grace and Danny alone. 

Grace throws a couple of stones at the ocean but doesn't seem interested in going swimming for once. Danny sits on the grass and watches her. She's growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday she was born and his entire life had narrowed down to the worry of keeping her safe and happy. Now she's half grown, and worried about him. The reversal of it strikes him as so very unfair.

When did everything get so messed up.

He's still pondering when he feels cold metal pressed against his neck. 

"No sudden movements please your highness," a coldly polite voice says. "I would hate to traumatize your daughter."

He turns carefully. Filling his vision is a silencer, connected to a gun, held by the servant he'd run into in the hallway after he'd stormed away from the throne room; a middle aged Asian man with a stern face. "What the hell...?" Danny gets out. 

"I am sorry for this your highness, It's nothing personal..."

"Well that's good, I'd hate to think it was  _ personal _ when someone points a gun at me..." He feels himself close to panicking. Hawaii had lulled him into a false sense of security, but he should have kept his guard up. Royals are always a target for every crazy with a grudge against how things are being run. He just has to keep this nutcase away from Grace. 

"I don't know what you want, but killing me is not going to help you get it." Danny states. 

"I don't want anything from you Prince Daniel." The man's voice is cold and implacable, the end of his gun doesn't waver a millimeter. "But the King, that's another matter."

"Yeah, well killing me is not the best way to go about getting his attention."

"I don't plan to kill you... unless you intend on causing trouble." The man states. "We're going to go for a little walk, and hopefully King Steven will be reasonable and shortly you'll be free to go."

Danny's eyes flick around the grounds, but he's alone back here. At the mercy of this madman.

"Danno!" Grace has seen what's happening and comes running towards them. 

"Grace!" Danny yells, "stop right there." She freezes instantly, her eyes wide and fearful. 

"Don't worry young miss," The man says. "Your father and I are just going for a little walk." He gestures with the gun towards the fence surrounding the palace grounds. 

"Danno...." Grace is in tears now, she's absolutely distraught. 

"We're on a tight timeline your highness." The man says. "Please don't make me do something you'll regret."

"Grace, it'll be ok." Danny has no idea if he's lying or not, but he's determined to not show his fear in front of his daughter. He turns his head to face his assailant. "I'll go with you, I'll do whatever you want just leave my daughter alone."

The man ponders it for a moment. "A fair trade," he agrees. "Now, this way if you please," and he gestures with the gun. 

Danny bends down and Grace runs to him. She's shaking like a leaf and wraps herself around him tightly. "Hey, monkey, it's ok. It's ok. I'm just going to go for a walk with this nice gentleman and you're going to go back into the palace and find Steven ok? You find Steven and you tell him what's happened and you tell him I said to look after you, ok?"

She's crying in earnest now, big gulping sobs with tears running down her face. "I don't want you to go..." 

"I know you don't, but I have to." He glances back at the man who's looking at them impatiently. He gives Grace one last hug, storing it up just in case. Then he pulls back, wipes her eyes and grips her shoulders. "You have to be strong now Monkey, ok? Now go find Steven." 

He pushes her away, ripping his heart out at the sound of her wail, and watches as she turns and runs back toward the palace. 

"So touching, but now, this way. Quickly." The man directs him to the wall surrounding the gardens. In the back corner here it's overgrown with liana, but a section has been pushed aside to reveal a small service door. Jenna is standing next to it, worriedly scanning back and forth. 

"It took you long enough. I was starting to worry." She glances at Danny. 

"You traitor." He snarls. "You'd betray your own king, for what? Money?"

"I'm sorry Danny." Her voice is grave and low. "I had to. I know you won't understand..."    
  
"You're damn right I don't understand. Nothing makes any kind of sense in this crazy kingdom..."

She looks around again fearful, then back to the mystery man. "I've held up my part of the bargain, now it's your turn. Tell me where I can find Josh."

"I'll do better than that," The man replies. "I'll send you to meet him." There's a muffled 'crack' and Jenna collapses to the ground with a bullet hole in her chest.

"JENNA!" Danny falls to her side and tries to staunch the blood flowing from her wound. "Oh god, hold on..." 

The man leans down and grabs a key from her hand. Stepping over her he grabs Danny by the arm and hauls him to his feet, pushing him through the doorway and locking it quickly after them. 

"You animal! Why'd you do that huh? She was helping you!"

The man turns his cold eyes on Danny. "She had outlived her usefulness and become a liability. I would suggest you learn from her mistake."

He points with the gun. There's a nondescript black car waiting nearby. He pushes Danny over to it and unlocks the trunk. 

"Apologies, your highness." Then he cracks the gun against the side of Danny's head and everything goes black. 

\---

King Steven is going over some tedious point of royal protocol in his office with Max when he hears the sound of running feet in the hallway outside. As they approach the door he can make out the sound of distraught wailing. He's on his feet in a flash and catches Grace just as she runs into the room. 

"Gracie, what's wrong. Where's Danno?"

She's sobbing so hard that he can't understand her at first, but a few words make the situation horribly clear. "Danno... the man took him...said to tell you." 

Steven's stomach falls. No. No, no, no. They'd been so careful. "What man Gracie?" 

"The bad man, he had a gun, he said Danno had to go with him..." She starts sobbing louder. 

"Gracie, I need you to look at me." He waits until she gets herself under control. "What did this man look like? He pulls out his phone and thumbs it open. "Did he look like this?" He shows her a picture of a man.

Grace looks at it solemnly, and nods. "That's him."

Steven closes his eyes in despair then a moment later he wrenches them open again in panic.

"Grace, where's Kono and Meka? Are they hurt?"

"I don't know... Kono was watching us today. She stayed inside when we went to the beach..."

He lets go of her to stand up, but she cries out and clings to him even tighter. He looks at Max, "Find Kono, or my Aunt and send them to me. Then go find Chin and Catherine and tell them I need the info they were working on, now."

Max scurries off on his errand and Steven picks up Grace, walking back and forth making soothing noises. "It's ok, you're gonna be ok."

Her sobs tail off into choking hiccoughing. "What about Danno?" She manages to get out. 

Steve pulls back so he can look her in the eye. "Grace, I promise you. Danno will be fine. I'll make sure of it."

At that moment Kono comes running in. "Boss, what's going on? Max said Danny's been kidnapped?" 

Steve's gaze is icy. "I left strict instructions that they were never to be left unguarded." Kono blanches, but holds her ground.

"He said they were just going for a walk in the garden. I thought they'd be safe."

Steven clenches his teeth. "Well you thought wrong and now Wo Fat has taken Daniel. Do  _ not _ disobey my orders again, do you hear?"

"Yes sir." Kono responds shoulders slumping. She looks at Grace cradled in the King's arms and her eyes soften. "Here let me take her."

Grace goes to Kono without protest. Her face is still white, but she's holding herself together, sniffling quietly. 

Chin bursts into the room, followed closely by Catherine and Max. He's got a folder in his hands and his face is grave. "I don't want to say I told you so, but..."

"Not now Chin." Steven looks at Kono, "Find Kawika, then take Grace back to her room and guard her with both your lives." 

"No." Grace shouts, reaching out towards him. "I want to stay with you." Her face is set and furious. Stubbornness obviously runs in the family. 

Steven takes her hand and holds it in both his own. "Gracie, I promised you I'd get Danno back, but I need you to help me. I need to know that you're safe ok? So go with Kono and I promise Danno will be back before you know it. Deal?"

She nods, reluctantly. "Deal. But you gotta pinky swear." She holds out her hand, pinky finger outstretched and the King very solemnly shakes it with his own.

Once she and Kono have left the room the King turns to Chin and Catherine. "Alright, now where the  _ hell  _ is Jenna?"

\---

Danny wakes slowly, the pounding in his head threatening to send him back into unconsciousness at the slightest movement. The side of his face feels tight with dried blood and his temple pounds with a sharp pain in counterpoint to the dull throbbing of the rest of his body. He tries to reach up to wipe the blood from his eyes but his arm won't move.

He forces his eyes open to take stock of his surroundings. He's sitting in a chair in the middle of what looks like a suburban living room. The decor looks like it's been abandoned since the seventies and the furniture isn't much newer. His hands are bound behind him, tying him to the chair, but his legs have been left free. There's a large blood stain across the front of his shirt and he can feel the sluggish pulse of blood from the wound on his temple where his assailant had struck him. 

His assailant.

"Ah, you're awake." The voice comes from behind him. "I was beginning to worry I had overestimated the thickness of your skull." The man walks around Danny to stand square in front of him. He's removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves up to the elbows and tucked his gun into his waistband. Reaching out he grabs Danny's chin and roughly turns his head so he can get a better look at his head wound. 

"You want a ransom, is that it?" Danny asks.

"Nothing so petty," the man replies. "I have loftier goals than mere money."

He turns to a desk in the corner of the room and removes a first aid kit. "My name is Wo Fat. I know that name probably means nothing to you, but it's very familiar to the King." He pulls a few butterfly plasters from the kit and turns back to Danny. "By the way, I'm very familiar with you prince Daniel. Your husband prepared a very full dossier on you before proposing his treaty. It was very informative."

Danny shudders to think of this man reading about Grace. "Whatever you want I'm not going to help you get it..."

"Now that you're here your cooperation is no longer needed. You will help me destroy King Steven whether you want to or not."

"I may not like the King very much right now, but I'm not going to help you destroy him. Especially since you didn't ask me nicely," Danny responds.

Wo Fat grabs shakes his head. "I never expected to you help willingly." He leans forward and attaches two butterfly strips across the gash on Danny's scalp then releases Danny's head and turns to sit in a chair opposite him. He leans back and crosses his arms staring coldly at Danny. 

"I think there's been some mistake," Danny protests. "You may have missed the newspapers the last few days what with you being crazy and all, but the King doesn't care about me. Never has."

"I'll admit that in light of recent events it may appear unlikely, but trust me, the King will be very motivated by your disappearance."

Danny can only hope he's right. He doesn't like the look in the man's eyes. It doesn't bode well for him going home to have a peaceful life with his daughter. 

"Did King Steven ever tell you about his mother?"

Danny puzzles at the abrupt change of subject. "Everyone knows the story of Queen Doris' death, it was an assassination. Except they never caught the person who did it." Danny looks at his captor. "I'm guessing since you're asking it has something to do with this."

"You're quick your highness. Yes, ancient history does have a bearing on today's little adventure." He leans back and gets comfortable. "My father was an operative for the Chinese government, he was instructed to pressure Hawaii into negotiating a better trade treaty. Somehow Queen Doris found out his allegiance and ordered him... taken care of." His face is stony. 

Danny's heart sinks. He's never approved of some of the ways certain royal families deal with political problems. Cloak and dagger stuff always causes more issues than it solves, today being a fucking case in point.

"I was nearly twenty five by the time I found out that my parents did not die in a simple car crash," Wo Fat continues. "I swore that day that I would destroy her family the way she had destroyed mine. I've taken out the former Queen and King, and now there's just Steven and his sister. And now that I have you I have leverage against him."

"Uh, huh." Danny's getting really tired of this shit. He pulls at his wrists. The knots are firm, but there's some slack in the bindings. Sloppy, apparently Wo Fat doesn't see him as a threat. 

Good. 

The man in question has risen and turned to look out the window towards the ocean. "Don't worry your highness, as long as the King cooperates you'll be perfectly fine." 

Danny twists his wrist and manages to wiggle his hand free. "Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. What with you shooting Jenna and all." He can feel wetness dripping onto his palm and his wrist is scraped raw, but now he can reach the knot. A few more moments work and both hands are free.

Wo Fat finishes his perusal of the beach and turns back around. Danny freezes, holding his arms in the same position to disguise the face he's not bound anymore. Now just to wait for an opening. 

Wo Fat stalks back towards his chair and crouches down in front of him. "If I'd had more time I might have tried to get you to assist me willingly like she did. Fear for your daughter's life would have provided a strong incentive..."

Danny sees red. He surges forward from the chair and head buts his captor in the solar plexus. Wo Fat gasps, winded, and tumbles backwards with Danny on top of him. Danny gets in a few good strikes at Wo Fat's head and goes to grab for his gun but then Wo Fat recovers from his surprise and the tide quickly turns. 

He grabs Danny's wrist and flips him, twisting his arm behind him as he does and plants his knee in the middle of Danny's back pressing him down into the carpet. Danny stills, his shoulder screaming in agony from the pressure. 

Wo Fat wipes the blood running from his nose. "Impressive, I see I underestimated you. Not quite the soft spoiled prince I assumed." He leans down and whispers in Danny's ear. "I won't make that mistake twice." Then the world goes dark as he strikes Danny across the back of the head with the butt of his gun. 

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everybody reading and leaving kudos & comments! I am just blown away by the response this story is getting. You guys are awesome!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay on this chapter, it's been a hell of a week.

The palace is tightly controlled chaos. Danny has been gone for nearly an hour now and no one can figure out how Wo Fat had slipped through their security. Grover has been interrogating all the palace guards to try and find where they'd slipped up, but so far nothing.

"Your highness?" Jerry calls from behind the King's desk, "I think I found something." 

All eyes in the room turn towards him. Steven strides over and bends down to look at the laptop screen Jerry is working on, Chin and Catherine close on his heels. It's showing a feed of one of the security cameras in the garden. There's the usual waves advancing and retreating on the shore, and the garden plants swaying gently in the slight breeze. As Steven watches a bird with a bright red head swoops across the view and disappears off screen. It's all very tranquil.

"What am I meant to be seeing here?" The King demands. 

"Just give it a moment," Jerry responds.

The tension surrounding the laptop is so thick you could cut it with a knife. As they watch the waves continue to roll, the plants continue to sway. Chin shuffles his feet and clears his throat but before he can speak the red-headed bird swoops across the screen again. 

"It's on a loop," Catherine gasps. "That's how we missed him." 

"That's the east wall," Chin notes. "Isn't there an old service entrance on that side somewhere?"   
  
"There is," Steven confirms. "Mary and I used it to sneak out once when we were younger." The King spins Jerry's chair around and grabs it by the arms, leaning intently forward. "Jerry, who other than you, Grover and Jenna can access the security feeds?" He demands. 

"It's just the three of us, unless someone hacked it. But it's a closed system so they'd have to do it from inside the palace..."

At that moment they're interrupted by a commotion in the hallway. "Your highness!" Grover yells from outside. "I found Jenna, she's in a bad way..." He throws the door open and the little group rushes outside where they're confronted by the sight of Jenna pale and trembling laid out on a stretcher. There's a blood soaked bandage across her chest and at her side Malia is inserting an IV line with cool efficiency. 

"We found her in the garden," Grover rushes to explain. "Near the east wall." 

"I'm sorry...," Jenna's voice is weak and shaky. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."   
  
"Jenna," Steven's firm voice pulls her attention to his face. "What did you do?"

"He said he had Josh." She starts crying, huge tears running down her face. "He said if I did what he asked he'd let him go..." She sobs once, a harsh broken sound. "He lied..."

The King grabs her hand. "Jenna, I need you to look at me. "Did you help Wo Fat kidnap Daniel?"

She's sobbing so hard she can't talk, but she nods her head jerkily. "I'm so sorry...."

Malia interrupts them, "Your highness, I need to get her to the ambulance. She's not stable yet. Ask what you need to ask in the next thirty seconds, then we have to go."

Steven looks back down at Jenna. She sniffles and tries to wipe away the tears still leaking from her eyes. "I...I don't know where he is... he never told me that." 

Steven slams his hands on the stretcher in frustration. 

"He just kept talking... about how he was going to make your whole family suffer. I think he'd lost it... 'cause he kept saying 'our mother' when he was talking about the Queen... like you were brothers or something." Her face screws up in pain, and she gasps. 

"Sorry your highness, but that's it." Malia states. "This woman needs to get to the hospital right now." She grabs the stretcher and starts pushing it away down the hallway with the help of two servants. A moment later they turn a corner and vanish from sight. 

"Damn it!" Steven yells. "That man has out maneuvered us at every turn. How the hell did we miss that Jenna was being blackmailed?"

"We'll find him," Chin says as he reaches out and grips Steven's shoulder. "You just have to hang in there and be calm."

" _ How can I be calm! _ My husband has been kidnapped by a madman!" Steven's eyes flash with anger and he spins and punches his fist through the wall beside him. Plaster rains down from the hole.  

"Feel better?" Chin asks dryly.

"Not really, no." Steve has the grace to look ashamed as he pulls his hand out. His knuckles are studded with bits of drywall and small cuts. 

Catherine grabs his hand and brushes the dust and detritus off. "I'm not gonna absolve your guilt, because I told you this was a stupid thing to keep secret from the start. But what's done is done. You need to sit down and get your head back in the game. I'll help Jerry with the surveillance footage." She turns Steven around and pushes him down the hallway. "Now we know how they got out of the grounds I should be able to requisition the satellite feeds for the time in question and track whatever vehicle they used." 

"Thanks Cath." Steven says. "I owe you."

"Oh, you owe me so much I don't think you'll ever finish paying me back." She grins. "Now go get that hand looked at. We'll call you when we have something."

The King nods and takes a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and walking down the hallway after Malia. 

\---

Danny has been gone for nearly two hours. Steven's hand is bandaged and Jerry and Catherine have commandeered his office to comb through all the surveillance feeds they can access from around the palace, legal or otherwise. They'd thrown him out twenty minutes ago, Cath claiming that having him breathing down their necks was slowing them down.

So now he's pacing his chambers like a caged animal. How could he have been so overconfident? This whole mess is his fault. His husband has been kidnapped by the man who killed his parents, the man who, according to Jenna, calls himself Steve's brother....

....wait....

He rushes over to the small desk in his outer chambers and rips the top drawer open, hastily pulling out a file folder. He throws it down on top of the desk and rifles through the papers inside. There it is, amongst all the other royal holdings, the deed for a small house in the suburbs of Honolulu on Piikoi Street. The page has a note scribed on it in his mother's hand. 'My son's house.'

He'd wondered about that when he was going through all his father's papers. It certainly wasn't his house, he'd never even been there, and it wasn't somewhere he was likely to go. It still doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's the only thing he has to go on.

He hurriedly folds the paper and stuffs it in his pocket, then goes to his room to gather the rest of his gear. He pulls out his old BDUs from the back of the closet and quickly dons them. Then he gathers every weapon within easy reach and silently slips from the room.  

\---

Danny awakes groggily, head swimming. He figures that last blow must have done some damage because clearly he's started hallucinating. There is no way Steven is actually kneeling in front of him right now. 

"Wha...?"

"Shhh...." Steve's wearing camo instead of his usual suit with a gun at his hip and a massive knife holstered at his thigh. His face is tense and angry, and his eyes keep flicking between the wound on Danny's scalp and the blood down the front of his shirt. He reaches out tentatively, his hands roaming over Danny's shoulders and sides, almost caressing as he searches for other injuries. Danny can feel the warmth of his touch like a brand. 

Oh, so not a hallucination then. 

"Hey, you're back with me." The frown fades fractionally. "Are you ok?" Steven's hand reaches out and cups the side of Danny's face, gently moving his head sideways so he can check out the scalp wound more closely." 

"You gotta get out of here, guy that took me is a psychopath, wants to kill you..."

Steve's face hardens again. "I'm familiar with Wo Fat." He bends down to attack the ropes securing Danny's ankles.    


"Oh, so you're familiar with the psychopath who threatened me in front of my daughter, kidnapped me and then beat me up?" Danny's furious now. He has no idea what's going on, but there's definitely more than Steve is telling. "He seems to think that your family is the architect of his misfortune." Danny continues. "Would you happen to know anything about that?"

Steven's hands still for an instant on the ropes before attacking them again with more vigour. "He's the one responsible for my parent's assassinations and he's been trying to do the same to me." Steven says quietly as he cuts the ropes binding Danny' legs to the chair. 

"There was some political maneuvering going on at the time between Hawaii and China. I don't know the details, not that it really matters. My mother put out a hit on his father, but the agent she hired was sloppy, took out both his parents by mistake. Ten years later he took his revenge by placing a bomb in her car." Steven sits up and scans the room. 

"My father feared for Mary's and my lives so he sent us away and spent the next eighteen years trying to track him down. I saw you found the toolbox. In all that time that's as much as my father managed to find. Wo Fat is practically a ghost. I only recently confirmed that it was him who shot my father at the naval summit." He moves around to examine the bonds around Danny's arms. 

"Well he can't be too smart if he kidnapped me to get to you." Danny mutters, "Everybody knows our marriage is a farce, I think this is the first time we've been in the same room together for more than five minutes since the wedding." 

Steve's hands still on his bonds. 

"That's not entirely true." He sighs. "Promise me you won't overreact?"

"Overreact? Is there something you need to tell me Steven?"

"I did it to protect you ok, just remember that." He takes a deep breath and moves around to Danny's front again. "After we first met in Oregon I couldn't stop thinking about you. My father had just died, I suddenly had to rule a kingdom I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years and all I could think about was you."

Danny stares at him, silently. Steven blushes and looks at the ground. "I took to keeping a portrait of you in my desk, I was trying to work up the nerve to contact you when I found the picture nailed to the door of my private apartments with a knife. I knew at once Wo Fat had to be responsible. He'd do anything to make me suffer, and you were in danger. So I proposed that trade deal, I figured if I included the clause about Grace then you'd be certain to agree. Then you'd be here and I could protect you. I never meant for it to get this far. I thought we'd manage to track him down before the wedding."

Danny continues to glare at him. 

"That's why Catherine has been working for me. She was in Naval intelligence before she retired. I've been shamelessly exploiting her contacts to try and track down Wo Fat." Steven looks directly into Danny's eyes. "There was never anything going on between me and her. I swear to you on my life." 

Danny sighs heavily. "You realize that actually  _ talking to me about this _ would have saved us all a lot of trouble right? I'm not saying I forgive you, because that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of and once we're safe I'm gonna tell you exactly how dumb, in excruciating detail, but could we get out of here first, please?"

Steve flashes him an apologetic look and attacks the rope binding Danny's wrists. In a moment his arms are free and Steven gently rubs his forearms trying to restore circulation. Danny tries to ignore how good it feels.

Steve pulls his knife out, and unholsters a gun as well. He looks at Danny contemplatively. "Do you know how to handle one of these?"

Danny shoots him a look of the most withering scorn he can manage right now and holds out his hand. Steve places the gun into it and Danny quickly and efficiently checks the magazine and chambers a bullet before looking back at the King. He raises an impressed eyebrow before moving towards the back door of the house motioning Danny to cover his back. 

"Please tell me everyone else is waiting right outside for us."

Steven's shoulders tighten guiltily.

"Steven, tell me you didn't come here all by yourself...."

"Ah, your majesty. How good of you to join us." 

They both spin around in shock to find Wo Fat at the bottom of the stairs. He's standing almost nonchalantly and has his own weapon out, pointed at Danny. 

"How good do you think you are? Can you stop me before I shoot him?" He pauses. "Or should we all holster our weapons and talk about this like civilized people."

"I don't think there's much to talk about." Steven spits in reply. "You killed my parents."

"After what they did to me they deserved much worse." Wo Fat spits back.

"His mother killed your parents, now you've killed his, isn't it time for it to be over?" Danny says.

Wo Fat turns to look incredulously at Danny. "It's not that simple." He cocks his head contemplatively turning back to Steven. "Our mother never mentioned me did she?"  

"No, why would she?"

"After my parents died she was wracked with guilt. She never forgave herself for murdering an innocent woman who had just become a new mother. That pain and anguish caused her to do something quite... remarkable. She took in that child and raised it as her own for several years here in this very house. Until your father discovered this... and forced her to abandon that child. Our mother..."

"Stop saying that!" Steven yells.

" _ Our mother _ ..." Wo Fat pointedly continues, "gave me up when you came along. Once she had her  _ real _ son she had no more use for me..."

"So you're trying to kill me because of something my mother did?" Steven interrupts. "And you think hurting my husband and traumatizing his child is the way to do that?"

Wo Fat's face twists with anger. "To take you down,  _ brother _ , I would do far worse than that."

Steve's face darkens and with a yell he throws his knife at Wo Fat, who dodges, almost superhumanly fast and the knife buries itself in the wall. He fires in return, but the knife has thrown off his aim and Danny is able to drop to the ground out of the path of the bullet which strikes the wall where his shoulder would have been..

Steven is across the room in seconds and swings at the Wo Fat's face. He blocks it with his forearm and tries to bring his gun to bear on this new threat. Steven grabs his wrist and keeps the gun pointed upwards as he's forced to block a flurry of blows from his enemies free arm. He manages to smash Wo Fat's wrist into the bannister causing him to drop his gun but then Wo Fat twists out of his grip, pushes him back, and lands a punishing kick to his solar plexus. 

Steven staggers back, off balance and Wo Fat takes the opportunity to execute a roundhouse kick towards his head that the king blocks at the last second. 

The two men are evenly matched and the tide of battle ebbs and flows across the room. Neither are able to gain the upper hand for long. Danny can barely keep track of the blows being exchanged between them. 

Wo Fat's attacks are precise, calculated to inflict the maximum amount of pain while Steven's aiming for quick incapacitation. Danny follows the two men with the sights of his gun but there's never a break in the action and he can't risk hitting his husband, tempting as the thought is.

Wo Fat lunges forward and delivers a punishing blow to Steven's stomach. The wind is knocked from his lungs and he staggers backwards gasping right into Danny sending them both crashing to the ground. Danny curses as his gun goes skittering away under the couch. 

Wo Fat presses his advantage, kneeling over Steven and wrenching his arm painfully backwards. Danny takes the opportunity to leap on Wo Fat's back and wrap his arms around his throat. He tightens his grasp and attempts to render him unconscious. Wo Fat rears backwards and slams Danny against the wall but he holds on. He slams backwards a second time and Danny cracks his head against the wall and feels his grip loosen. 

He slides down to the ground and is rewarded for his attempts by a brutal kick to his ribs. He feels one of them crack and pain radiates like fire across his chest. By this time however Steven has recovered his senses and returned to the fight. 

He strikes at Wo Fat's head and shoulders forcing him backwards towards the back door. Bursting into the sunshine of the backyard they continue to fight. Danny can merely lie dazed and gasping as he watches them retreat. 

He rolls to his side, sucking air into this lungs, and sees his gun lying under the couch. He stretches out and his fingers just brush the barrel. He can hear the sounds of flesh on flesh as the fight continues without him. He closes his eyes, prays to whatever gods may be listening, and thrusts his whole shoulder under the couch. His ribs protest violently but he grasps the end of the gun. He yanks it towards himself, and rolls to his feet, running towards the sounds of the fight. 

The bright sun is blinding after the darkness inside. He squints into the light but he can't tell who's winning, they're both panting and covered in blood and Wo Fat has Steven's knife and is slashing it through the air forcing the King backwards. 

Steven notices Danny out of the corner of his eye, but again Danny can't get a clear shot. They're moving too quickly, too close together. Steven tries to disengage but Wo Fat simply presses his advantage, the knife slicing across the King's bicep. Steven winces and glances at Danny for a second, his gaze resolute, before he steps forward and takes Wo Fat's knife strike deep in his thigh. Wo Fat yanks on it but Steven grips the handle tightly and shoves him backwards. 

Danny takes the shot. 

The retort of the gun is deafening. Wo Fat falls backwards with a neat bullet hole between his eyes. Steven looks at Danny, and then limps over to Wo Fat. He looks down at the body and nods once. Satisfied. 

Then his leg buckles and Danny rushes over to him. He pulls Steven's arm over his shoulders, taking his weight. The knife is still in his leg and Danny helps him hobble over to a convenient palm tree and lower himself down against it. 

"You absolute idiot, what were you thinking!" He rips off his shirt and wads it up, trying to apply pressure without jarring the knife. 

"I was thinking I wanted that fight to be over. I saw an opening and I took it." Steven's grimaces as Danny presses down. "You're welcome by the way." 

"For what?" 

"For saving you."   


Danny lets out a put-upon sigh. "Fine, thank you. Let's try not to do this again." He pauses then looks up at Steven frantically. "Grace...?"

"She's fine, shaken and scared, but she's with Kono and the whole palace staff is watching out for them. She's fine."

Danny sags in relief. "Thank god, and Jenna..."

"Last I heard she was being taken to hospital in critical condition, but the doctors were hopeful." 

"Good." Danny's voice is cold. "I've never hit a woman before, but for her I might make an exception." 

"Wo Fat had her fiancé, I can't really blame her for trying to protect the person she loved."

Danny snorts and reaches across to grab Steven's cell phone from his pocket. He goes to recents and stabs at Chin's number. It's picked up almost immediately.

"Hey Chin, it's Danny... yeah, he's here too... he's fine just got himself a little stabbed." He listens briefly nodding, "yeah if you could send some help as soon as possible it would be greatly appreciated." He turns to Steven, "Babe, what's the address here?"

"2727 Piikoi Street" Steve says. He's pressing hard on the wound on his leg, but his face shows how much it's hurting him.

"You get that?" Danny asks Chin. "Yeah, don't worry I'll yell at him until you can get here to do it in person."

He drops the phone and places his hands over Steve's. "I got you. Just hold on the cavalry will be here soon." Steve's face is lined with pain. "Oh, and Chin says to tell you you're an idiot."

Steve huffs out a laugh. "Well he wouldn't be the first person to say so."

"No, and he won't be the last either. When we get back I have a few choice words for you, especially about mounting idiotic solo rescue missions."

Steven has the grace to look ashamed. "I'm gonna hold you to that, but for now..." he swallows, "I think I need to pass out." He breathes out heavily and slumps against the wall.    
  
Danny scrambles to put pressure on the wound as Steve's hands slip. "Don't you dare babe. You better not die on me now. I'll kill you. I am not staying here without you." 

In the distance he can hear sirens, sounds like Chin is almost here. 

"Stay with me babe, just stay with me!"


	10. Chapter 10

It's nearly six hours later before Danny finds himself at his husband's side again. Chin, Lou and what seemed like half the palace security staff had turned up moments after Steve had passed out. The King had been quickly whisked off back to the palace under Malia's supervision, while Danny had been ruthlessly interrogated by Chin about what had happened before he too was escorted back home. 

Grace is the first one to greet him on his return, running out as soon as his car stops and jumping straight into his arms. They'd clung to each other as if they'd never let go and it wasn't just Grace who was crying with relief. 

"Your highness..." Kono interrupts quietly. She and Meka are standing just behind them, looking downcast. "I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, it's ok," Danny responds reaching out with his free arm to pull Kono in for a hug as well. "I'm fine, Grace is fine, it's not your fault, I was the one who told you to leave us..."

"The King said not to leave you alone, but he never said why... I thought you'd be safe in the garden..." 

"And that's on him," Danny says firmly. "I'm not gonna blame you for his stupidity." 

Kono give him a wobbly smile. "So we're not fired then?" 

"Hell no," Danny letting go of Kono and reaching out to fist-bump with Meka. "You two are the only ones with any sense around here, besides Grace likes you and she's an excellent judge of character." 

Grace nods seriously. 

Meka gives a dramatic sigh and grins. "That's good news brah, the gift shop at Pearl said they weren't hiring any more security. I didn't know what else I'd do."

Danny shakes his head at his bodyguard. "With that sense of humor don't quit your day job." Then he grows serious. "But now, I think I'd like to go see my husband." 

Kono and Meka fall in behind him as he makes his way into the palace. He's immediately pounced upon by Deb and Mary and dragged away to get his head stitched up properly. It takes forever for everyone to finally stop fussing over him and let him go find Steven. 

He finds his husband lying in bed in his chambers. His leg has been tended to and bandaged and is propped up on some pillows. He's looking much better and Danny's heart unclenches a little at the sight. There's also a very fierce looking native man with curly hair standing by the bed with his arms crossed. He and Steven seem to be engaged in a very intense staring contest but both turn to look at Danny as he enters; Grace in his arms and Kono and Meka hot on his heels.

"Kawika!" Grace calls out, "Look, Danno's back!"

"So I see little princess." The man, Kawika, smiles. Danny chuckles a little internally. Apparently nobody, not even the terrifying Kawika, is immune to Grace's charms. 

"King Steven, Danno says you rescued him." Grace struggles from Danny's arms and makes her way over to the bed. "Thank you for keeping your promise." 

Steven looks at Danny and there's too much there for Danny to read. Then he turns his gaze to Grace. "I told you he'd be ok." 

Grace nods solemnly and reaches out. Steven pulls her into a gentle hug. Danny however doesn't miss the wince when the movement jostles his leg. 

"Monkey, Steven and I need to talk. Can you go play with Kono for a bit?"

She pouts. "Do I have to?" 

"Come on keiki," Kawika interrupts, "lets to see if Kamekona's got any baking he needs help with." He directs one last glare at the King. "Just so we're clear, you ever do anything like that again and it will be the last thing you do, got it?"

Steven cowers a little under that vehement glare. "Got it." He replies. 

Kawika turns to Danny and rolls his eyes. "He's all yours," he states as he holds out his hand for Grace. 

As the others pile out of the room Meka jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "I'll just be outside," and he beats a hasty retreat as well. 

Steven looks panicked as he's left alone with Danny. He fusses with his blankets for a few moments while Danny continues to stand silently staring at him. Eventually he runs out of wrinkles to smooth and looks up.

"I guess I owe you an apology..."

" _YOU GUESS?!_ " Danny explodes. "You propose marriage to me under false pretenses and neglected to tell me there was a madman out to kill you who had no qualms about using me to achieve that goal, and you  _ think _ you owe me an apology?" He scythes his hands through the air. "You have serious issues, you know that right? This is the sort of important information that should be disclosed  _ before _ the proposal, not after."

"I didn't know how to tell you about Wo Fat in a way that wouldn't have you running for the hills. I figured I'd take my chances." Steve answers. "And I guess I was just too used to keeping secrets from my time in hiding. I never meant for it to get this far, I really thought we would have tracked him down before the wedding..."

Danny snorts. "And how well did that little plan work out? Cause from where I'm standing it looks like you screwed up, royally."

The King has the grace to look ashamed. "I may have overestimated how easy it would be to track him down." 

"Yeah, you did." Danny confirms. "And now we're married." He pauses and sighs heavily flopping down into the chair by Steven's bedside. "I'm married to a madman with a penchant for keeping live-threatening secrets and going into dangerous situations without backup." He rubs his hands over his face in frustration. 

Steve shrugs with one shoulder. "I knew if Wo Fat caught wind of a big party leaving the palace he'd probably shoot you. After finding out about Jenna I wasn't sure who I could trust anymore. I knew I needed to go in fast and silent, and my odds were better if I went in alone." He fiddles with the blanket again before looking back at Danny. "I've trained for this, it's what I do. I'm not going to apologize for saving your life."

Danny shakes his head. "Putting aside your massive trust issues, and the fact that you  _ got stabbed, _ the whole thing was a really dumb idea. You should have just been honest with me from the start and we wouldn't have been in the situation where anybody's life needed saving. Oh, and I saved your life by the way, not the other way round."

Danny rubs the heels of his hands over his eyes. He can feel a massive headache coming on. "So who actually knew about this whole thing? I'm assuming Max didn't since he thought you were cheating on me with Catherine."

Steven looks away. "Chin and Catherine knew of course, and Jenna. Grover knew we were at a higher state of alertness that usual since he's in charge of security but I didn't tell him all the details." 

Danny looks at him incredulously. "You didn't even tell your head of security? With planning like that how the hell did we not all end up dead?"

"Why are you surprised?" Steven looks indignant. "I would never have let anything happen."

"Again, you could have  _ told me _ ! Then nothing  _ would  _ have happened." Danny snaps back.

Steven grumbles. "Well if I would have told you would you have still agreed to my proposal? This was the most expedient way to make sure you were safe. I asked you to come and you said yes, what does the rest matter?"

"It matters because now we're married." Danny continues his voice rising again. "Tell me you at least realize how difficult that's gonna be to undo..."

Steve honest to god pouts. "I said I was sorry," he protests. "I'll figure something out." He looks down again and fiddles with his wedding band. "You really want an annulment?" He asks in a quiet voice.

"I'm not sure," Danny responds equally quietly. "One divorce was more than enough for me, but you haven't exactly been the world's greatest husband so far..."

Steven looks down at his hands, clenched tightly in the blankets. "I was spending every waking moment trying to track down Wo Fat. Everything else didn't seem as important."

"Everything else being me."

Steven lets out a sigh and flops back against the pillows. "I fucked up."

"Damn straight you did."

"If I asked, would you give me a second chance?" Steve asks hopefully.

"I don't know babe, are there any other murdering psychopaths I should know about." Danny asks, raising his eyebrows. 

"You're never going to let that go are you?" Steven grumbles. 

"Seriously? I'll still be holding that over you fifty years from now."

"So you'll stay?"

Danny freezes, "I don't know. This was a pretty major fuck-up. Gotta say I'm having some trust issues of my own now. I'm not really convinced you realize how what you did was wrong either."

For several long moments they simply stare at each other. For the first time Steven's not holding anything back, there's pain in his gaze, and fear, but also hope. But Danny's not sure if he's able to let this whole mess go. Steven's secrets put them all in danger. He may have thought he was doing it for a good reason, but he'd tainted their marriage right from the start. Danny can't bear the thought of returning back to Jersey with his tail between his legs, another divorce under his belt. But he's also not sure if he can really trust Steven after this. 

A knock on the door shatters the moment and Chin pokes his head into the room.    
  
"Your highnesses," he coughs nervously. "There's some gentlemen from the FBI downstairs who'd like to talk to the King about Wo Fat, and we should probably get our story straight before you do."

Danny looks at Steven who huffs and beckons Chin towards his bedside. "Duty calls." He tells Danny apologetically. "I know it's too late for today, but would you and Grace join me for supper tomorrow? I promise this time I'll show up."

Danny forces a wan smile, "I'll see what my schedule is like. Maybe I can squeeze you in." Then he nods to Chin and leaves the room to go find his daughter. 

\---

The next day Danny is surprised by an early morning summons to the throne room. Meka was  uncharacteristically somber as he escorted Danny through the hallways and when asked what was going on had merely shaken his head. Upon entering the room they find almost all the palace staff assembled with Steven sitting nervously on the throne. He's in a full suit today with a heavy looking gold crown on his head and he looks every inch a King. Chin is at his side holding a rolled up parchment and Danny's instantly suspicious, full pomp and pageantry usually means bad news.  

The King hurriedly gets to his feet as soon as Danny enters, standing stiffly on his injured leg. 

"Daniel," Steven starts and inclines his head in a shallow bow. "I want you to accept my most sincere apology. Since you arrived here my behavior has been nothing short of inexcusable. I have lied to you, kept secrets from you that endangered both your life, and the life of your daughter, and I have not acted towards you as a husband should."

Danny feels his eyes widening. The staff are all nodding along with Steven's words, and the fact that he's issuing his apology is such a public manner, it's completely unexpected. He seeks out Max in the crowd who gives him an encouraging smile. 

"To make amends for my behavior I offer you this," he motions Chin forwards who holds out the parchment. "I offer you an uncontested annulment of our marriage naming myself as the sole party at fault, and in recompense I return to Jersey their trade routes that were part of the marriage contract, as well as the right to keep the Hawaiian trade routes too."

Danny gasps, those trade routes were incredibly lucrative. He takes the parchment from Chin and unrolls it. It's exactly as Steven said, Jersey retains all the Hawaiian trade and has their original routes returned to them. It's a huge concession. 

He looks up as Steven step from the dais and comes to stand directly in front of him. 

"I know I have no right to ask anything," the King continues softly. "But if you think there is the slightest chance you could forgive my behavior I ask for you to postpone your decision for a week and give me a chance to prove myself."

Danny looks at Steven, then around at the staff. He clears his throat nervously, then pauses. While he appreciates Steven's commitment to doing this publicly he's not sure if he's ready to be so open. 

Steven follows his gaze and nods in understanding. "Everyone out!" He barks, and the room quickly empties. 

Danny weighs the parchment carefully in his hands, then looks up at his husband. Steven's trying hard to keep his face expressionless, but Danny can see through him now. He can see how afraid he is.

"I'll give you your week, but on one condition." He states carefully.

"Anything." Steven promises. 

"Anytime I ask you something, I want you to tell me the full truth. No hiding anything, no matter how small."

Steven looks panicked for a moment, but then he straightens and nods decisively. "That seems only fair."

Danny walks over and places the parchment on the throne. "Oh, and we're starting now." He turns to look his husband in the eyes. "Why did you get so drunk on our wedding night?"

Steven blushes and covers his face with his hand. "Really? That's your first question?" 

"The first of many." Danny confirms.

"We hadn't managed to catch Wo Fat and I was panicking. I wasn't sure if you'd stay once the whole thing came to light and I thought if I knew what it was like to wake up with you in my arms and then had to let you go I wouldn't be able to survive." He's staring fixedly at a point on the carpet just before Danny's feet. "I also couldn't bear the thought of you being in my bed because of duty rather than desire." He blushes. "Worst night of my life for the record. You were so willing to make things work and I had to be an ass to you... I'm sorry."

Danny nods slowly. "Worst night of my life too." He adds. "All that hot body mine for the taking, and you were too drunk to stay awake."

Steven ducks his head shyly. "Yeah, well you're not exactly hard on the eyes either. That morning on the beach when Gracie got you all wet, I had to go hide in the ocean so you couldn't see how it affected me." He looks up with a shy smile. "It was torture being married to you and unable to do anything." 

For a moment they stare deep in each other's eyes and finally it feels right, like a new beginning.  Danny's the first one to move, he leans forward and gently presses his lips against Steven's. It's nothing like the kiss at their wedding. It's softer, warmer, an apology and the promise of a fresh start wrapped into one. 

\---

The next week is the exact opposite of Danny's first week in Hawaii. Steven goes surfing with him and Grace every morning, drags Danny along on all of his royal duties, and eats dinner with them both every night. He asks Steven a million questions about his childhood, his time in the navy, and anything else he can think of and not once does Steven hesitate to answer. He's also a kind and patient teacher, instructing Danny in the finer points of Hawaiian history and culture and how it affects how they run the country. Over the course of the week they spend nearly every moment together, and Danny lets himself believe that maybe they  _ can  _ have a second chance.  

This is the man he thought he'd be marrying, the man he'd met that night in Oregon. If there's anything wrong it's just that Steven is being too perfect of a gentleman. There are a few chase good night kisses, but he still hasn't asked Danny to come back to their marriage bed. Every night after dinner he wishes them both a good evening and makes his way to his rooms, alone.

Eventually Danny gets tired of waiting. One night, six days after Steven's apology he speaks as they're finishing dinner. 

"Kono, can you put Grace to bed for me tonight?" 

She looks puzzled, but quickly acquiesces. "Sure thing boss. You got an engagement gonight?"

"Nope," Danny replies, popping the p a little for emphasis. He looks at Steven. "Not yet, anyway."

Kono catches on faster than the King. She pulls Grace's chair out, blushing furiously. "Come on Grace, let's go, bedtime."

Grace pouts a little, but after a hug from her father allows Kono to hustle her from the room. 

Steven's still staring at Danny, confused. Then suddenly his eyes widen. 

"Ah ha, he finally gets it." Danny teases. 

"You're sure?" The King asks?

"Babe, I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

The King's smile is blinding as he grabs his husbands hand and practically drags him from the room. 

The next morning they're both hours late for court. Chin just shakes his head and quietly tears up the annulment.

 

***

EPILOGUE

***

"Danno! Watch me!" Grace yells as she goes speeding by him on the crest of a wave. Her surfing skills have certainly improved over the last few months. She's riding that wave like she was born to it. Speaking of which, Danny turns his own board, waits for the right moment and pops up to catch a wave himself. He's riding loose and easy today, not a care in the world. By some miracle they have no engagements so he gets to spend the whole day with this husband and daughter. 

Speaking of which, there's Steven now, walking down the beach followed by Meka carrying a large picnic basket. Steven takes the basket and dismisses Meka, then turns back to the water and whips his shirt off. 

Danny over balances and tumbles face first into the waves. 

God damn it. 

After nearly a year of marriage the sight of his husband's body shouldn't affect him like that.

He bursts back out of the water and shakes his head to clear his eyes. Grace has made it back to shore by this time and has been swooped on by Steven whose pulled her into a tight hug. The sight of the two of them together still makes Danny's heart melt. He paddles the last few feet back to shore and plants his surfboard securely in the sand. 

"What's with the picnic babe?" Danny asks. 

"I thought we should celebrate." Steve responds turning to open the basket. "After all today is an important day."

"I hate to break it to you, but our anniversary isn't for another few months." Danny grabs a towel and spreads it out so he doesn't have to sit on the sand. He's got used to most things about Hawaii but he still hates getting sand everywhere. It's just so darn itchy. 

"I know it's not our anniversary." Steve says flopping down next to Danny. "But it  _ is  _ the anniversary of the day we met." 

Oh.

"You're an incurable romantic, you know that right." Danny teases him gently.

Steven simply smiles and leans over for a kiss. 

"Ewwww....." Grace comments from the other side. "I'm not hungry yet, can I keep surfing?"

"Go find Kono and see if she'll go out with you." Steven answers. "I'm keeping your dad here with me."

Grace sighs heavily and runs back to the palace to track down her surf instructor. 

"So, a year since we met." Danny comments leaning back on his elbows. "It seems so much longer..."   
  
"Excuse you," Steven protests, "it's been the best year of your life and you know it."

"Oh I never said it wasn't." Danny's grinning now. "It's just little things like kidnapping tend to distort your sense of time."

"You're really never going to let that go are you?" Steven asks.

"Nope." Danny grins. "I promised you I'd still be holding that over you fifty years from now, and I fully intend to keep that promise."

Steven grins wide. "You better keep that promise. I want you by my side every day for those fifty years." 

"You're so demanding," Danny quips leaning forward. 

"Well, I am King." Steven responds, capturing Danny's mouth with his own and rolling him over onto the sand. 

And this, being kissed senseless by his husband with the sun on his face and his little girl safe and happy? This is everything Danny's ever wanted.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, it's finally finished. Thank you so much to everyone who read along and left comments and kudos. You guys are the best!


End file.
